Miss Bingley's machinations
by WritingImagination
Summary: "So, Miss Eliza, I hear you are quite delighted with George Wickham!" (Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XVIII/18). Miss Bingley tells Mr Darcy that Elizabeth is delighted with Wickham, and that Wickham has made assertions regarding Darcy. (Cover image: M Caballero on Pixabay)
1. Chapter 1

The Bingleys, the Hursts and Darcy were having dinner at Netherfield. Mr Darcy was his usual quiet self and Mr Hurst had eyes only for his food. Only Miss Bingley, Mr Bingley and Mrs Hurst were engaged in conversation. Miss Bingley was awaiting the perfect moment to disclose some thrilling news that she had uncovered the previous night, at the ball. Finally, as was his habit, her brother started talking about the lovely Jane Bennet, and Caroline saw an opening.

Turning towards her sister, she said, "My dear Louisa, I can't believe I forgot to mention this most intriguing news when we had lunch together today. Indeed, I cannot wait to tell you!"

"What is it, Caroline?" asked Mrs Hurst with marked curiosity.

"Our dearest friend Jane was asking me a thousand questions about Mr Wickham yesterday!"

At these words, both Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy started.

"Oh my," replied Louisa with wide eyes, "Do you think she fancies him?"

Mr Bingley blanched and Mr Darcy's expression was cold, as was usual when the topic of Wickham came up.

Caroline drew out the anticipation by waiting a little before replying, "No, dearest Louisa, I do not think so."

Mr Bingley calmed a little, but Caroline was not done.

"You see, she was asking me on behalf of her sister!"

Mr Darcy's eyes were staring intently at Miss Bingley and his cheekbones tinged a little pink.

"Which sister?" he managed between gritted teeth.

"Why," replied Miss Bingley with wide, expressive eyes, as though the answer was obvious, "Miss Elizabeth Bennet of course! Jane told me that Miss Eliza is quite delighted with Mr Wickham."

Mr Darcy's eyes flashed with anger.

Caroline's brother saw fit to interrupt her before his friend could lose his temper.

"Caroline, I think Jane was merely trying to find out if Mr Wickham is a respectable young man, and I assured her that he isn't. It seems that Mr Wickham made some assertions about Darcy to Miss Elizabeth." Bingley's eyes had turned to his friend to gauge Darcy's reaction.

Darcy took a deep breath to calm himself, before asking, "Charles, do you know what Wickham's assertions were?"

"No, sorry, Darcy, I don't. I imagine they didn't paint you in the best light."

"I tried to tell Miss Eliza not to give credit to his assertions, but she seemed most convinced and quite rudely rejected any attempts at persuasion," said Miss Bingley.

Mr Darcy gritted his teeth. Wickham certainly knew how to rile him up. Wickham's lies certainly explained Elizabeth's recent froideur towards him, and the reason why she had asked him odd questions about his friendship with Mr Wickham during their dance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The idea that Elizabeth thought ill of him because of Wickham's lies was unbearable to Darcy. It had occurred in the past that Wickham tried to spread vile rumours about him. However, in Derbyshire, people did not hold Wickham in high esteem and were not inclined to believe him. It was a well-known fact that Wickham had left many debts behind him when leaving Derbyshire – debts, which Mr Darcy later graciously discharged. Furthermore, while Darcy was glad the people of Derbyshire did not believe Wickham's lies, he felt more strongly about being held in high esteem by Elizabeth. He didn't care much if many people in Hertfordshire, such as Mrs Bennet or Lady Lucas, thought ill of him. However, the thought that Elizabeth might think ill of him was distressing.

He pondered how Elizabeth could possibly believe Wickham, before admitting that his behaviour might have lent credence to Wickham's claims. Darcy wished he could explain to Elizabeth the circumstances of his lost friendship with Wickham. However, there were several impediments. Foremost, he could not risk exposing his sister. He could, of course, send a letter to Georgiana asking if he may divulge the particulars to a person he trusted, but he feared that his sister, all that was kind and gracious and obliging, would agree while actually dreading exposure. He could also only mention Wickham's dealings with him in regard to the living of the curacy. But regardless, there could be little occasion for such a revelation. Furthermore, he feared that even if he somehow managed to address the subject without too much awkwardness, it would lay bare his feelings for Elizabeth. This thought terrified him. He hadn't even realised the depth of his regard for Elizabeth until now. Realising that he cared so deeply about her opinion of him meant that he had to confront his feelings.

Begrudgingly, he had to admit that he admired her greatly. He had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. If it were not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger. However, his duty to his family prevented him from forming any serious intentions. Therefore, why should he endeavour to appear more reputable in her eyes? They could not be good friends – Darcy knew he had to keep his distance. He realised that paying Elizabeth too much attention could only result in a deepening of his feelings, and creating disappointed hopes for her. Elizabeth's low opinion of him due to Wickham's lies would be beneficial for the purpose of keeping them apart. And yet, Darcy was tempted to let Elizabeth know about Wickham's true nature. He didn't think she was in any danger herself, regardless of what Miss Bingley might have said. However, he wondered if there was a way to lessen her ill opinion while still keeping a reasonable distance that would discourage affection.

Darcy paced quickly around his room, preoccupied by these thoughts.

Perhaps the best approach would be to wait until Wickham's nature became obvious to the residents of Hertfordshire. Surely it could only be a matter of time before people found out about his debt and gambling habits, and his seduction of naïve and impressionable women. However, this solution tasted bitter to Darcy. It would mean yet more victims of Wickham's selfish and deceiving ways, just because Darcy would not expose him beforehand. How many honest business owners would be swindled, how many girls ruined* before Wickham's true character was revealed in Hertfordshire? And if Darcy had had any hope that Wickham's character could be reformed, this was certainly crushed by the realisation that his childhood friend was still a compulsive liar. Darcy resolved to keep a close eye on Wickham's actions and to interfere if he saw any alarming sign of Wickham reverting back to this old ways. Of course, this was hardly a long-term solution, as Wickham would move with the militia to other parts of the country, where Darcy would not be able to exert any surveillance on him. However, it would have to do for the present.

(* Please keep in mind that I am writing from the perspective of someone living in the Georgian era, when a lot of emphasis was put on "virginity" and reputation. My writing does not reflect my own opinions.)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

In London, Miss Bingley, Mr Darcy, and Mrs Hurst were distracted from the recent gossip regarding Elizabeth Bennet and George Wickham, by the realisation that Mr Bingley was forming serious designs regarding Jane Bennet.

"Charles," said Miss Bingley one evening, after her brother had sat down to write a very long letter to Miss Bennet, "You cannot be serious in your intent."

"Whatever do you mean, Caroline?" replied Mr Bingley with feigned innocence, but the slight tinge on his cheekbones betrayed him.

"Are you so smitten with Miss Bennet that you do not realise the impossibility of the match?"

Mr Bingley opened his mouth but closed it again without having spoken.

"What are you writing her?" said Mrs Hurst, bending over her brother's shoulder to glance at the letter.

Mr Bingley folded the letter to prevent his sisters from reading it.

"Nothing of importance," he replied. He looked at his friend as if asking for help, but Mr Darcy sided with his sisters.

"Your sisters are right, Bingley. If you let your admiration for Miss Bennet show so much, you will raise hopes that are bound to be disappointed. It would be a cruel thing to do, and would surprise me greatly about your character."

Mr Bingley looked affronted, "What makes you say her hopes would be disappointed? If she responds favourably to my advances, I would woo her and propose."

Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst started detailing to their brother all the negative aspects of such a match.

"Despite being a dear sweet girl," said Miss Bingley, "Jane Bennet is in no way fit to be Mistress of Netherfield. She would be out of her world, out of her element. It would be distressing for everyone involved. She would be out of place in higher society."

This argument fell on deaf ears.

Mr Darcy tried a different approach, "Charles, are you really sure that Miss Bennet feels the same admiration for you as you do for her? You're a great fellow but her heart does not seem easily touched. She has always behaved in an amiable way towards you, but that is her temper, she is sweet and has good-natured manners with everyone. Are you sure she shows a particular inclination towards you?"

Mr Bingley blinked and seemed to start doubting.

"Well, if that be the case, I will find out sooner or later. If I have been completely misled by my own affections and wishes, she will reject my proposal."

Mr Darcy sighed. He would have liked to discuss this matter in private with his friend, but Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst were hanging onto every word. Mr Hurst, however, could not be any less interested in the conversation. He was slowly starting to fall asleep.

"Mrs Bennet's intentions are to marry her daughters to eligible, wealthy bachelors, and you fulfil that criteria. She seems to have little regard for her daughter's wishes. Imagine that she found out about your proposal, and pressed Miss Bennet to accept it, despite Miss Bennet's reservations?"

Mr Bingley's eyes widened almost comically. He had not considered that possibility.

"Mrs Bennet needn't find out," he murmured, though his voice lacked conviction.

"And what if Miss Bennet accepts you out of duty to her family?" retorted Mr Darcy, "Would it not be kinder to not put her in a position where she has to make such a difficult decision?"

Mr Bingley seemed appalled, and conceded, "You're right, of course, Darcy. If she does not feel any inclination towards me, it would be best not to risk a proposal. But how can I be sure of her feelings? I trust your opinion, what do you think?"

Mr Darcy hesitated but continued arguing that he distinguished no particular regard from Miss Bennet towards Bingley. Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst occasionally voiced their agreement, and soon Mr Bingley was convinced that he had fooled himself and that Miss Bennet did not admire or love him.

"I think we ought to stay in town," argued Miss Bingley, and Mr Darcy voiced his approval. He felt a twinge at the idea of leaving Miss Elizabeth behind, especially with Wickham being in Elizabeth's vicinity without surveillance and accountability. However, he realised it would be better for both Bingley and himself to distance themselves from the two eldest Bennet sisters.


	4. Chapter 4

Mr. Bingley was uncharacteristically quiet and gloomy during the Christmas season. Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst did not seem to mind their brother's unusually subdued demeanour and his lack of liveliness. They delighted in being back in London and in their familiar circle of higher society. Mr. Darcy considered that he had done what was best for his friend and would not let feelings of guilt intrude upon his happiness on seeing his sister again. However, he could not conceal his unease at seeing the extent of Bingley's loss. He reassured himself by reflecting that he had saved Bingley from an imprudent and unhappy marriage and that Bingley would eventually recover from his unrequited love. However, some events would prove more difficult for Darcy to reconcile himself with his actions. He had noticed that Miss Bingley was writing to Miss Bennet, and although Miss Bingley would not disclose the exact content of their correspondence, he knew enough of Miss Bingley's duplicity to suspect that she was writing more out of a desire to distance Miss Bennet from her brother than out of a genuine wish to continue their acquaintance. This suspicion was confirmed by a brief conversation in the drawing room.

Miss Bingley had taken the opportunity of her brother being absent – he had retired early to his room – to write a letter to Jane Bennet. She claimed she would not want to inflict unnecessary pain on her brother by mentioning the name of his unrequited love in his presence, but Darcy thought they were all purposely avoiding the subject in order to allow Bingley to forget and recover. They had all felt the extent of the danger and would not wish to reignite Bingley's flame by mentioning Jane Bennet. Darcy doubted whether Miss Bingley was truly concerned for her brother's feelings, but he refused to think more closely on this issue because he did not want to have to examine his own position on the matter.

Still, he could not help inquiring on the contents of the letter, and Miss Bingley was delighted in his starting a conversation with her, and although she would not disclose any particulars, her responses were enough for Darcy to understand the general intention.

"Why, Mr. Darcy, your concern for my brother's affairs is truly generous and admirable," she simpered, "but allow me to reassure you. I am in no way entertaining Jane Bennet's hopes."

"Miss Bennet had genuine hopes regarding Bingley's heart?"

"No, you misunderstand me. Pardon me, I have not worded my meaning very well, and will clarify. I do not think Jane Bennet felt any real affection for my brother. Without disclosing any particulars, my letter is more a friendly warning of the finality of our departure from Hertfordshire for the winter at least."

Mr. Darcy put aside any unease related to his friend's distress, and congratulated himself on having saved Bingley from a loveless marriage that would tie him to a disgraceful family. However, he soon received some news that gave him some unease.

Following Christmas, while Bingley was invited to stay longer at Darcy's house, Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst were not. And yet both, but most particularly Miss Bingley, liked to spend much time at Darcy's house rather than their brother's house in Grosvenor Street. They would pretext wanting news of their brother, but it was clear Miss Bingley sought Darcy's company, and Mrs. Hurst was simply bored of her husband and preferred leaving him behind in Grosvenor Street. Their presence was not usually welcome, and they seemed to notice it. Miss Bingley changed tactics and tried to ingratiate herself with Mr. Darcy by frequently inviting Georgiana to dinner. And that's how Darcy found out that the eldest Miss Bennet was in London.

One day Georgiana asked him, since he would be passing through Grosvenor Street, if he wouldn't mind picking up an item she had forgotten at dinner the previous evening. Darcy obliged his sister even though he did not look forward to Miss Bingley's enthusiasm at his visit. However, surprisingly, that was not how Miss Bingley reacted. Just as he was approaching the front door, one of Bingley's carriage arrived and he saw Miss Bingley alight from it. She had not seen him and she muttered to the coachman "There's no need to tell my brother that I went to Cheapside". Mr. Darcy was surprised and his curiosity was piqued. He greeted Miss Bingley and he watched her eyes widen almost comically as she saw him. She did not look pleased to see him, she rather looked like she had been caught doing something she would rather not have him know. However, she recovered quickly and smiled sweetly at him.

"Mr. Darcy! How glad I am that you are coming to visit Louisa and me. Forgive me for not noticing you just now, your visit is a bit unexpected, we understood from dear Georgiana that you are very busy."

"Indeed, I was only stopping briefly at my sister's request, I have business to get to today. Pardon me, but I could not help overhearing that you are returned from Cheapside. If it is not too prying of me, would you mind quelling my curiosity as to what you were doing in that part of town?"

He was aware that his question was indeed too prying, but he hoped that Miss Bingley would answer as she always sought to please him. He was not disappointed. Again, she smiled and fluttered her eyelashes.

"It is not too prying, Sir, after all we are intimate friends, are we not? It is only natural that you would be interested in my activities and whereabouts." She paused, but he did not comment. She continued, "I would please ask that you do not disclose this to my brother if it can be helped. Jane Bennet is in town and I have just returned from paying her a visit. She is staying at her uncle's place in Cheapside."

Mr. Darcy was surprised. He wondered if Miss Bennet had come to town in order to follow Mr. Bingley there. Most of all, he was surprised that Miss Bingley was continuing her acquaintance with Miss Bennet because in the past few weeks, she had admitted to no longer writing as often to Jane Bennet when Darcy had inquired about it. Darcy had hoped to glean some information regarding Elizabeth through Jane's correspondence with Miss Bingley. He had been disappointed on hearing that there was hardly any correspondence left, but he told himself that it was for the better. Bingley needed to forget Jane, and he needed to forget Elizabeth. Darcy resolved not to tell Bingley that Jane was in town. It was for the best.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm not sure if this chapter is any good (especially the second part), but here goes :)

 **Chapter 5.**

Part 1

Darcy was growing restless. Since Miss Bingley's correspondence with Jane Bennet had dwindled, a problem had arisen. He no longer had any source of news about what was happening in Hertfordshire and therefore what Wickham was up to. He had initially welcomed the increasing distance between Jane Bennet and the Bingleys. Now he found that instead of allowing him to forget about Hertfordshire and Elizabeth, it only made him anxious about what could currently be happening there. If only he had disclosed Wickham's true character, perhaps he would have been able to move on. Since he had stuck with family pride and protecting Georgiana, Wickham's happy manners had fooled the Hertfordshire residents into trusting him. Several times, Darcy woke up in a cold sweat after particularly vivid nightmares in which Elizabeth fell victim to Wickham's deceit. He imagined Wickham compromising Elizabeth and then abandoning her. When awake, he knew that this was absurd. He trusted Elizabeth not to be fooled by Wickham. And yet, from what Miss Bingley had said, she appeared quite enamoured with him. The idea of Wickham being Elizabeth's favourite was repulsive to Darcy. How could she not see through Wickham's charm! How could she not recognise his lies for what they were! Darcy realised that more than Elizabeth, her younger, silly sisters, were more likely to be easily imposed upon. And yet, in his nightmares, Elizabeth became as naïve as young Georgiana had been or as silly as Catherine and Lydia Bennet were. He knew that this was not doing her justice, and yet he could not help but worry. He considered her an astute judge of character and yet she had been misled by Wickham.

He realised that he had acted, and was still acting, quite selfishly. Regardless of who Wickham would harm in Hertfordshire, Darcy would have to partake in the guilt for not having revealed Wickham's character. And if Wickham's victim were Elizabeth... then the guilt would destroy him. Darcy resolved to write to Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana to ask for their permission to reveal some of what had transpired between Wickham and the Darcys. And then he would head to Hertfordshire and expose Wickham for what he was.

Part 2

Darcy called uninvited in Grosvenor Street. Miss Bingley seemed delighted to see him, Mrs. Hurst merely surprised, and Mr. Hurst appeared generally uninterested as usual in anything that was not food or cards.

"Mr. Darcy, how nice to see you again so soon. How is Charles doing?" asked Miss Bingley, who looked immensely pleased with herself. No doubt she thought that Darcy was finally returning her attentions.

"Well, I'm coming precisely to talk about Bingley... He's doing better but- I know we agreed that it would be best for him to stay in town, but I was actually considering heading back to Hertfordshire just for a little while."

"Why on earth?" Miss Bingley was aghast. She could not feign enthusiasm for this particular idea of Darcy's.

Mr. Darcy avoided giving too much information away, but he explained as best he could that he wanted to expose Wickham's character in Hertfordshire. He asked Miss Bingley if she had any recent intelligence of Wickham from her correspondence with Miss Bennet. Darcy was slightly disappointed but not truly surprised that she had none to offer. That had been the chief reason of his visit.

He concluded by saying that since Miss Jane Bennet was currently in town, the situation would not be risky for his friend.

"That is very honourable of you," said Miss Bingley, "But perhaps you ought to go back to Hertfordshire without Charles. He might reignite Mrs. Bennet's hopes of marrying off her eldest, and soon we'd have Jane Bennet nursing a cold in Grosvenor Street." She laughed and her sister joined in her laughter.

Darcy was slightly taken aback by Miss Bingley's cruel comments towards Miss Bennet. While Mrs. Bennet was ridiculous, it seemed unlikely that Miss Bennet had been ill by her own design. Furthermore, he had an underlying feeling that Miss Bingley had just implied something appalling.

"Are you suggesting I head back to Hertfordshire without telling him? That would be tantamount to betrayal. I'm already not comfortable with hiding Miss Bennet's presence in town from him."

"We could head to Netherfield together, with Mr. and Mrs. Hurst," suggested Miss Bingley, while Mrs. Hurst nodded her approval.

"I could not possibly stay at Netherfield uninvited by its master." Darcy was scandalized.

Miss Bingley pursed her lips. She realised it would be in her interest to keep Darcy and her brother away from Hertfordshire, but she was starting to see how Wickham could come in useful in her schemes. She therefore decided to change tactics.

"I suppose nothing I say will change your mind anyway," she said, "Still, we appreciate you coming to explain your motivations. When will you ask Charles if he is open to the idea of heading back to Hertfordshire?"

There was no doubt in her mind that her brother would do as Darcy wanted anyway.

What they didn't know was that Jane was back in Hertfordshire. Disappointed in Miss Bingley's regard for her, Jane had not thought it necessary to inform her that she was leaving town.


	6. Chapter 6

Apologies for the delay and short chapter. I've been very busy lately and I'm pretty sure the next chapter postings will also be quite short and irregular. Thank you rochsmell for the reviews, love your stories! Hola Trini, gracias por tus comentarios :) Thank you to all who reviewed :)

Chapter 6.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Bingley seemed surprised and slightly angry at his friend's suggestion.

"Darcy – you're a great friend and you know I respect your opinions, but I'm failing to understand this sudden reversal in position. I let you persuade me to leave Hertfordshire and Miss Bennet behind, and now you suggest we head back because you've suddenly decided to expose Mr. Wickham's character? May I add that you have not even fully disclosed the particulars of your affairs with Mr. Wickham to me yet. If it was so important, why on earth did you not do it while we were there? I'm not keen on the idea of heading back just to badmouth one of your old acquaintances, even an enemy. And most importantly, and I can hardly believe I need to say this out loud, surely it goes without saying, I am in such acute pain since my separation from Miss Bennet's company, and I believe seeing her again knowing full well I stand no chance would finish shattering my heart."

Mr. Darcy was rendered quite nervous by Mr. Bingley's speech. He let an uncomfortable silence set in as he felt the weight of the guilt for the pain he was putting his friend through. Then, he thought about how he could reassure him that Miss Bennet would not be in Hertfordshire, without admitting he knew she was in London. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke,

"You're perfectly right, of course, Bingley, it's hardly fair of me to make such a request, and you are naturally at liberty to refuse. I do not seek to hurt you unnecessarily; I am suggesting this return to Hertfordshire because I truly believe it to be important. Please let me disclose to you the particulars of my affairs with Mr. Wickham, perhaps it will help convince you of the importance of disclosing his character."

And so Mr. Darcy narrated the full details of what had transpired between him, Wickham, and his sister. Throughout the speech, Mr. Bingley's face had blanched considerably. And yet, when Darcy was done detailing the events of Ramsgate, Mr. Bingley stood up and began pacing the room with a quick, angry stride while his face turned uncharacteristically red and a vein began pulsing at his neck. He eventually placed himself in front of Darcy, who was still seated, and was looking up at his friend curiously.

"I take back what I said: I am, in fact, keen to go back to expose Mr. Wickham. However, I need to tell you that I find your behaviour irresponsible and frankly, unacceptable."

Mr. Darcy was astonished. Never before had he been chastised by his friend.

Bingley appeared furious and he scolded and reprimanded Darcy so severely that Darcy felt like a small child being berated by an adult.

"Why the devil did you not expose him earlier? Are you aware that at this very moment, he is in Hertfordshire, in the company of many young ladies, including acquaintances, and dare I say friends of ours? For even if we had to part from the Bennet family, surely we must still wish the best for them. And being ruined by Wickham is not something I would wish upon anyone, even complete strangers or enemies. I wish you had told me earlier what Wickham had done, for I would not have waited for your approval before exposing him! If anything were to happen to Miss Bennet -!"

Bingley took a deep breath and spoke with a voice of forced calmness, "Why didn't you say earlier?"

"My pride, sense of decorum and honour of the family prevented it," Darcy replied honestly.

Bingley looked like he was about to lunge at Darcy.

"If anything happens to Miss Bennet which could have been prevented were it not for your pride, I will make sure you regret it."

With Bingley towering above him like that, Darcy could not help feeling a little scared. Furthermore, he realised that Bingley's angry outburst clearly spoke of his deep-seated love for Miss Bennet, and he could not help wondering if he had made the right decision in discouraging his friend from courting her. His feeling of guilt was exacerbated by his awareness that his motivations were entirely selfish – he was planning to go back to protect Elizabeth, his love, with less consideration being afforded to the other Bennet daughters and the other young ladies of the neighbourhood. While Bingley seemed most worried about protecting the eldest Miss Bennet, he had in fact included all the other young ladies of Hertfordshire in his worries. He could keenly feel how Bingley was a better gentleman, and felt shame in his actions.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The trip to Hertfordshire was awkward and strained silence reigned in the carriage. Mr. Hurst didn't appear to notice, he was slumped to the side, occasionally snoring softly. Mrs. Hurst occasionally looked at her sister, clearly interested in starting a conversation but too intimidated by the two grave-looking gentlemen to do so. After some time, Miss Bingley started reading a book, occasionally glancing over it to observe Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley was staring out the window with a melancholic look etched unto his face. Mr. Darcy was ever more stern than ever. Colonel Fitzwilliam had been invited to join the trip, as Mr. Darcy privately believed his presence would help the exposure of Wickham's character. The colonel was usually a lively man yet for most of the trip, his travelling companions' gloom humour seemed to quell his enthusiasm for conversation. After several failed attempts at conversation, he had remained silent like the other five passengers. Eventually though, he piped up again,

"My, what a lovely bunch you are. I am sure if I had known this trip into the country would resemble a funeral procession, I should have rather chosen to stay in town. This permission is making me wish to be called back by the army."

Mr. Darcy shot him a dark glare, but Colonel Fitzwilliam was not to be intimidated, "Oh you can stare daggers at me all you like, Darcy. You invited me, should you not try to entertain a little? I can't say I'm really surprised by your silence, however why the lovely Bingleys and Hursts are silent baffles me. Is your condition contagious? You should have said earlier, for I have only my conversation to recommend me, I do not own beautiful estates."

Mrs. Hurst stifled a giggle in her gloved hand, and Colonel Fitzwilliam, delighted at the joyous reaction, shot her a playful wink.

Before Darcy could reply, Miss Bingley jumped to his defense.

"Mr. Darcy has many things to recommend him, and I wouldn't mind listing them but I'm afraid the ride is too short. Besides, I wouldn't want to bore you." Colonel Fitzwilliam was certain he wouldn't be bored at all, in fact he would wager he would find Miss Bingley listing Mr. Darcy's qualities to be extremely funny and entertaining, especially if he could watch Mr. Darcy's reaction to such a pompous litany. However, before he could voice this, Miss Bingley continued, "And surely, Colonel Fitzwilliam, you must be aware of the gravity of the situation?"

Colonel Fitzwilliam visibly deflated a little and he replied with a more serious voice, while secretly hoping they weren't actually heading to a funeral, "I'm afraid I'm not. Which serious aspect to this trip into the country is there? Darcy briefly mentioned exposing Wickham while there, however, I wasn't aware that any irreparable damage had already been done."

"It is not that," Miss Bingley waved her hand dismissively, "but my brother-" she glanced towards Mr. Bingley who was absorbed in his own thoughts and not paying them any attention, "-has had some disappointed hopes from a Hertfordshire lady, and we will most likely visit her family while there... the mother is a particularly interesting specimen..."

Mrs. Hurst snorted at the last comment, and Colonel Fitzwilliam appeared massively interested. The details of Bingley's situation and the lady's family were a welcome distraction from an otherwise dull trip.

"Oh, do tell," he begged.

"I believe that is not necessary," Mr. Darcy interjected and Miss Bingley voiced her approval before falling silent once more, and hiding behind her book.

Mrs. Hurst was not so easily deterred, and she was encouraged by Colonel Fitzwilliam's joviality and his boisterous manners. The fact that she did not live to please Darcy also helped her along in comparison to her sister. She started detailing the Bennet family in such a way that the colonel frankly laughed a few times, and he could not help but look forward to meeting this family.

"An indolent husband and father, eh?" he would occasionally summarise her descriptions while pondering on why Darcy seemed slightly more ashen-faced which each new description. Louisa Hurst avoided speaking much of the eldest daughters, merely mentioning "a smiling beauty, truly a sweet girl" and "a girl who can't hold her tongue and walks through muddy fields." Mr. Bingley finally awoke from his daze long enough to shoot an accusing stare at his sister, who was not holding her tongue.

"Miss Bennet is more than just a beautiful girl with a sweet temper. She is sensible, considerate, and intelligent."

"Miss Elizabeth Bennet has an amazing wit and intelligence, paired with an archness of manner and a playful disposition".

All eyes turned towards Mr. Darcy who seemed to regret his spontaneous outburst and sank back into his seat.

Colonel Fitzwilliam was wildly entertained and could not help roaring with laughter, which made Darcy's cheeks turn pink, prompting even more laughter from the colonel and a badly disguised giggle from Mrs. Hurst.

Miss Bingley was trying to bite her tongue, but she was greatly vexed by Mr. Darcy's compliments of Miss Elizabeth and his obvious admiration. Therefore, she said, "Moreover, she is a beautiful woman with a pair of fine eyes. Good thing too for fine eyes will distract from six inches of mud on the hem of her dress and subpar piano skills."

Colonel Fitzwilliam was watching this exchange with the delight of a child discovering his favourite toy on Christmas morning. His eyes widened comically and he said,

"My, my, I seem to have stirred up quite a controversy surrounding this family. Does anyone care to explain what clearly appears to be some sort of joke only those who know the reference will understand?"

Mr. Darcy seemed furious and Miss Bingley seemed to understand that her actions were not doing her hopes of matrimony to the man any favours and she resolutely buried herself behind her book. Before Mrs. Hurst could speak, her husband finally woke up from all the sudden noise in the previously quiet carriage.

"Are we there yet? I need some food, and this carriage is too crammed to attempt a game of cards."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Soon after arriving at Netherfield, the party of six decided to host a gathering under the pretence of introducing Colonel Fitzwilliam to the society of Hertfordshire. Before the gathering, in a true testament to Bingley's positive impression here despite his prolonged absence, he received courtesy visits from many people, including Sir William Lucas. Even Mr. Bennet, prompted by his wife, went to extend a dinner invitation, which included Netherfield's newest guest.

The following day, the complete Netherfield party arrived at Longbourn. They were introduced into the parlour by two housemaids and the housekeeper, who helped divest them of their coats. Colonel Fitzwilliam was ecstatic at the idea of meeting the famous Bennet family and of observing Bingley's as well as most particularly his cousin Darcy's reactions to the ladies of the family. He also looked forward to witnessing another bout of Caroline Bingley's jealousy. He was glancing around him at everything and everyone with undisguised curiosity. Mr. Darcy resolved to hide all emotions and schooled his features into a blank façade. Yet this admirable decision could not last long. They were ushered to the dining room where all Bennets were waiting, standing in a row, with Mr. and Mrs. Bennet slightly at the forefront. ALL Bennets. Mr. Bingley was too busy staring at Jane to notice that Darcy's face and his sisters' faces displayed shock. They were utterly dismayed to see Jane Bennet there. Colonel Fitzwilliam, not distracted like Bingley, did notice this and could not help wondering about it. He resolved to ask about this later. He also noticed that while Louisa Hurst seemed surprised and openly stared at Jane, Darcy and Miss Bingley were also preoccupied with the second oldest Miss Bennet. Darcy's eyes were always wandering back to her although he seemed to catch himself and revert his attention elsewhere whenever he managed. His face was a kaleidoscope of different emotions despite his best efforts. Miss Bingley's eyes had narrowed with suspicion and she was glancing back and forth between him and Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who did not appear to notice she was a particular subject of attention. Her face did not register any particular pleasure or displeasure at seeing their party. Curiously enough, in this mix of reactions, the most polite member of the party turned out to be Mr. Hurst, who introduced Colonel Fitzwilliam to the Bennets. Since this should have been Darcy's role, had he not been otherwise preoccupied, the party seemed to wake up from a trance and resumed acting normally.

They sat down to dinner, and after the usual polite enquiries after health and news around the whole table, Miss Bingley turned to Jane and engaged her in light conversation. She was trying to talk to Miss Bennet without her brother Charles overhearing, however, this battle seemed lost as Mr. Bingley was hanging onto Jane's every word. How was she supposed to bring up the fact that Jane had not deigned mention her return to Longbourn without disclosing to her brother that Jane had been in town and that she had known about this and consciously hidden it from him? This dilemma did not last long, as Lydia piped up, "Oh how I should have liked to accompany my sister to London! I always long to go to town."

"You were in town?" Mr. Bingley asked Jane quite unceremoniously.

Jane's eyes widened almost comically while her sister Elizabeth seemed highly interested in the turn the conversation was taking.

"I was," Jane replied, hesitant as to how to pursue without putting Miss Bingley in an awkward position.

Elizabeth gladly stepped in, with a wry smile on her lips, "Miss Bingley, how kind of you to have paid my dear sister a visit in Cheapside."

Mr. Bingley turned a thunderous glare towards his sister but he had enough decorum to avoid an argument in a public setting. He instead refocused his attention on Jane. Miss Bingley paled a little, Miss Elizabeth smiled, and Mr. Darcy seemed dumbstruck. Colonel Fitzwilliam delighted in observing all of this. This dinner was highly entertaining, and he was not the only one to think so, Mr. Bennet had never been half as well entertained at this dinner table as he was that night. If only Mr. Collins had been here, he thought, this dinner would be complete.

Elizabeth, after her slightly ungenerous remark, settled into casual pleasantries with her usual wit sparkling to the surface but without any malice. Colonel Fitzwilliam was enchanted, and he could tell that so was Darcy, although Darcy also appeared slightly preoccupied. Miss Bingley was recovering quickly from the shock of exposure, and was trying to divert Mr. Darcy's attention to herself in the most ludicrous of ways. She was only outdone by the youngest Miss Bennet, Lydia, who constantly wanted everyone's attention. Elizabeth made no efforts to contain Lydia's ridicule as she was too busy talking to the colonel or delighting in observing Jane and Bingley's happiness at their reunion. Mary did not manage to utter a full sentence, as she was constantly interrupted from every direction, but mostly by Lydia. Catherine, as Lydia's faithful shadow, was only encouraging her younger sister to be more and more exuberant. Mrs. Hurst appeared slightly uncomfortable and out-of-place without any conversation with her sister, she was left to stare in thinly veiled disgust at the youngest Bennet daughters. Mr. Hurst only had eyes for his food. Mrs. Bennet delighted in everything and could not imagine a more successful and pleasant dinner, and she overtly spied on everything happening between Bingley and her eldest daughter.

Just when Mr. Bennet thought this disaster of a dinner could not possibly get any better, Lydia, because of course it would be Lydia, brought up a subject that sparked an interesting discussion.

"Oh Mama," she cried, "We should have invited our dear Wickham!"

Turning to the colonel, she added, "He is a great friend of the family, and he's in the regiment too! I'm sure you would have gotten along splendidly."

Mrs. Hurst nearly choked on her food at Lydia's words. Miss Bingley was quickly thinking of how to turn this topic of conversation to her advantage. Mrs. Bennet voiced her approval at Lydia's words and reprimanded her husband. Mr. Bennet indeed could only imagine that such an addition would provide even more entertainment for him. Colonel Fitzwilliam cast a sidelong glance at Darcy, and then said to Lydia, "I did know a George Wickham, and I must say, I do not have the fondest memories of him to say the least."

Elizabeth, who found the colonel friendly and engaging, was surprised and interested in knowing more. She did not need to press the matter though, for already Lydia and her mother were asking what the colonel meant.

"Well, I've known him since we were children since he was a childhood friend of Darcy's and..."

Here all eyes turned towards Mr. Darcy who blushed slightly under the scrutiny.

"... his father, a respectable man, managed the Darcys' estate. The late Mr. Darcy bestowed upon him a curacy..."

Elizabeth who so far was only hearing things she already knew, was listening with rapt attention.

"Wickham refused the curacy pretexting he wanted to study the law, and he asked and was granted by Mr. Darcy here a generous living equivalent to the curacy as replacement. He squandered it by gambling, accrued debts, and became a rake and a blackguard. He then returned and asked for the curacy, which he was logically denied. Later on, he attempted to seduce and elope with a friend of ours for her dowry. Everywhere he went, he left ruined girls, debts, and badmouthed Mr. Darcy for denying him the curacy by spreading lies."

A short silence followed this speech. Lydia and Catherine were staring agape, but Lydia was the first to recover, "Well, he can't possibly be all that bad, he was such happy manners."

Several heads turned toward Lydia in disbelief. Even Mr. Bennet did not find the dinner so amusing anymore and chastised himself for letting his daughters roam free with such a man without much supervision.

Colonel Fitzwilliam replied amiably, "It is precisely this happy disposition that allows him to deceive so well. But talk to any business owner in Derbyshire and they will tell you all the debts he left behind, and how Mr. Darcy graciously paid them off. They are not easily fooled by Wickham's lies and have uncovered who the true villain is. There are certain circles in London society - which respectable girls like you would in no way find yourself – where if you asked, you would find out about his gambling habits and the type of company he keeps. If Wickham wanted to borrow money, he would be automatically denied. If he seeked a girl's hand in marriage, the father would only have to do a little research before denying his consent."

Mr. Bennet blushed a little at the idea that he had not even done "a little research" as to who this man, who had ingratiated himself with his daughters, was.

"Of course," continued the colonel in order to appease his clearly stunned and horrified audience, "I do not expect that his character is as well known in Hertfordshire as it is in Derbyshire. I daresay he has not yet revealed his true colours here, but surely it is only a matter of time."

"Well," cried Mrs. Bennet while fanning herself with her hand, "Thank you so much for letting us know all this, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Oh to think he was in our home, around our daughters! I shudder at the thought. Oh my poor nerves!"

This time, Elizabeth Bennet could not laugh off her mother's worries about her nerves. She herself was feeling a little faint.

"Are you alright, Miss Elizabeth?" asked Mr. Darcy in a subdued voice.

She slowly turned to face him, as she was quite distracted by her thoughts.

"Why, yes, thank you for your concern. I was merely reflecting on this new information, which is quite distressing..."

Mr. Darcy looked at her sympathetically.

She took a deep breath and continued, "It _was_ very gracious of you to absolve the debts he left behind."

"If only I could have warned them beforehand."

"Why... why didn't you tell us earlier...?" asked Elizabeth.

"Did you think he was trying to redeem himself?" asked Jane with her generous candour.

Mr. Darcy was slightly taken aback, "I suppose I didn't want to discuss private matters and painful memories that I would rather forget. I might have underestimated Wickham's potential to harm again... I realise now I was mistaken. I do not think he has redeemed himself because I have been informed that he has continued to spread lies."

Elizabeth blushed slightly. Mr. Darcy hurried to reassure her, "My own father was quite taken with him, I do think it is excessively easy to believe Wickham's tales due to his – in appearance at least – friendly and gentlemanly disposition. I do not think it would be easy for anyone in Hertfordshire who is not acquainted with Wickham's activities in Derbyshire and London to gauge his character accurately."

At these words, Elizabeth realised that not only could she not easily have detected Wickham's real character, but it seemed she had been equally mistaken on Mr. Darcy's character.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you all so much for the kind reviews. Happy New Year! :)  
**

 **Chapter 9**

Mr. Bennet used the newly acquired knowledge on George Wickham's true character to warn others, mainly business owners and fathers with daughters. He finally realised the extent of his past nonchalance and felt ashamed at his lack of oversight. This feeling was exacerbated when Lydia failed to understand why she was no longer allowed in Mr. Wickham's company – she seemed to think what he had done was not _so_ bad after all – and Mr. Bennet proved surprisingly stern and authoritative on the matter. Lydia, Catherine, and Mrs. Bennet were surprised at his changed behaviour, the other family members delighted in it. Mary in particular found some clever things to say, and Elizabeth silently rejoiced that she might be spared some of the ridicule attached with her at times obnoxious younger sisters running after officers.

Mr. Bingley was in no hurry to leave Hertfordshire now that he was in Jane's company again. He was giving his sisters the cold shoulder since he had found out they had known of Jane's presence in town. He hardly spoke a word to them. Mr. Darcy was spared this treatment because Bingley assumed his friend had been unaware of Jane's whereabouts. Miss Bingley had not disclosed that she had told Mr. Darcy – although she was planning a nefarious ploy that might soon require such a disclosure. For now, she thought it best to stay on Mr. Darcy's good side. Mr. Darcy's guilt was bearing down on him, and he resolved that he would soon confess to Bingley although he had not yet been able to bring himself to do so. His excuse was that he was there to disclose Wickham's character and everything else could wait. However, this excuse was soon obsolete as word of Wickham's character had spread like wildfire in a matter of days and soon it seemed that everyone in Hertfordshire knew of every detail of Wickham's life – some stories were more than embellished, Wickham was no longer merely a rogue and a rake, he was also a hired murderer, a vicious pirate, a traitor conspiring with the French, the illegitimate son of a clergyman, and a brothel owner. Darcy feared that such rumours could backfire to the point where people would not believe the actual truth of Wickham's nature, who was merely a gambler, a seducer, and a fortune-hunter.

Wickham was taken aback by the sudden reversal in the tide of his popularity. He knew not how to react and considered leaving the regiment – that was supposed to stay some time longer in Hertfordshire – and to go on to another county. However, before had had made up his mind on the matter, he was approached by Miss Bingley with a most unusual offer. She admitted that his character's flaws having been exposed was not helping her plans, but she suggested that he should nevertheless continue pursuing Miss Elizabeth, in exchange for a generous compensation. Wickham accepted – money was money, no questions asked. Of course his task was rendered more difficult due to Colonel Fitzwilliam's and Darcy's revelations to the residents of Hertfordshire and Mr. Bennet's sudden surge of paternal responsibility.

Wickham purposefully spent his free time roaming the paths he knew Elizabeth liked to walk on. And sure enough, a sunny day, the day just before the gathering at Netherfield was supposed to take place, they happened upon each other.

"Miss Bennet!" Wickham called cheerfully.

"Mr. Wickham," Elizabeth greeted him politely if a little coldly.

Mr. Wickham approached, beaming.

"I am so glad to see you! I have been deprived of your company for too long, and I know how much you like these woods, I must say this meeting is not entirely a matter of coincidence. I was hoping to find you here."

"Well," Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably, "Here I am. Although if you had wanted to see me, you would have called at Longbourn and realised that my father has declared you persona non grata in our household. Pardon my bluntness but news of your... er... _exploits_ have reached us."

"Ah, yes, so I thought," Wickham's ears tinged a little pink, "So you believe all that slander? Pray tell, do you really believe me to be a pirate? Do you think I am co-conspiring with the French? I do not speak a word of French and as far as I'm aware, they do not speak English so well."

Elizabeth did not manage to suppress a small bout of laughter. Wickham brightened at her reaction. But her next words made her position clear.

"As much as people like to exaggerate and fabricate stories, I do trust Colonel Fitzwilliam though I have known him but little."

Wickham's eyes narrowed. "And Darcy? Do you trust _him_?"

Elizabeth hesitated, "I suppose he has given me no particular reason to distrust him. He can be disagreeable, but that does not speak of the sincerity of his character."

"Have I given you any reason to distrust me?" Wickham asked calmly, with one eyebrow raised.

Again, Elizabeth seemed reluctant to answer.

"On first acquaintance, you do appear gentlemanly. But I must question why you exposed Mr. Darcy's supposed deficiencies of character, his flaws and failings, to me, while claiming you would do no such thing because you held his father in high regard. And as soon as Mr. Darcy left for town, you continued these claims on a much larger scale. You also avoided the Netherfield ball to avoid Mr. Darcy although you claimed you would not, because you considered yourself irreproachable. I also wonder at your ardent pursuit of Miss King, who has just inherited a small fortune."

Wickham tried his best to justify his actions, but his most charming manners could not lift the cloud of suspicion. Elizabeth remained courteous, but she made it clear that she had seen through him.

"Mr. Wickham, let us not quarrel over things that do not concern us. The affairs between Mr. Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and yourself, are none of my concern. As a young lady, the only thing that ought to preoccupy me is your reputation for ruined girls. Pardon my frankness, but I think it best if we were to avoid each other's company, especially in such intimate settings."

Wickham could do naught but oblige.

That same evening, two people stood, conspiring.

"I am making no progress," Wickham declared impatiently.

"Then you will need to compromise her publicly," replied Miss Bingley, "Tomorrow's gathering will be the perfect occasion. I will make sure you get into Netherfield."


	10. Chapter 10

nanciellen: I agree, they are at their best when they are at their worst. I love the way you worded that by the way :)

Lynned13: As you wish :)

I know I've just uploaded four chapters quite quickly, but trust me, this is (unfortunately) not my normal speed. I'm not sure when I'll write the next chapter.

 **Chapter 10**

The gathering at Netherfield was packed. It seemed that everyone worth knowing in Hertfordshire had been invited, as well as many others. Bingley had initially planned a small, semi-intimate, gathering, but it had spiralled out of control. His sisters had invited many people – sometimes without consulting him – and Bingley was at a loss as to why they would such a thing considering that they did not fancy Hertfordshire society. Caroline had been particularly adamant about inviting the officers, which was astonishing considering how much she ridiculed the youngest Miss Bennets for fancying their company. Of course, Mr. Wickham had been excluded from the invitation.

Colonel Fitzwilliam was charming, talking to all those around him, and delighting in the society. Elizabeth was stunned by the contrast between him and his cousin. Elizabeth, Charlotte Lucas, and Sir William Lucas were being regaled by a highly entertaining story that Colonel Fitzwilliam was telling them. Elizabeth was enthused with the colonel's travels and experiences, and she admired his well-informed mind and storytelling skills. At first, she was too enthralled to notice someone watching her, but then she turned around briefly and caught Mr. Darcy staring at her. He quickly averted his eyes and went back to his conversation – a very one-sided conversation – with Miss Bingley. Miss Bingley was detailing one of the books she had read in the hope of pleasing Mr. Darcy, who had once commented that accomplished ladies improved their minds by extensive reading.

"Mr. Darcy is looking at you again, Lizzy," Charlotte whispered in Elizabeth's year discreetly.

"I cannot imagine why," Elizabeth replied just as quietly.

"Capital, capital," Sir William was loudly commenting the colonel's story.

Colonel Fitzwilliam noticed the exchange between the young ladies and after Sir William had left to get himself a drink, could not help but tease them.

"Well, it seems only the good Sir William found my story interesting. What were you two ladies conspiring about?" He grinned broadly.

They both protested that his story had been very entertaining.

"Well then, which was the welcome distraction?" The colonel had a teasing glint in his eyes, and Elizabeth was roused to teasing herself.

"Your cousin appears to be looking this way with a lot of disapproval. You know him better than us – what do you think offends him?"

The colonel looked over and smiled, "Oh, he is looking this way alright, but I am not sure he disapproves of my storytelling. I'd rather wager he's exceedingly tired of Miss Bingley's speech and is looking for an escape."

Elizabeth and Charlotte laughed.

"Let us hope we are not his escape," Elizabeth ventured playfully.

"Why not?" the Colonel was surprised at Elizabeth's albeit joking reluctance to have his cousin join their merry party.

Elizabeth blushed slightly, she had not meant to antagonise the colonel by disparaging his cousin, and replied insincerely, "Oh, I am merely hoping that Miss Bingley will not resent us for losing her audience."

The colonel chuckled, "I daresay it is not such a big loss, Darcy does not appear to make for a very attentive audience."

And sure enough, a little while later, Darcy excused himself from Miss Bingley and joined them. He did not speak much, but observed his cousin and Elizabeth a great deal. Hereafter Sir William Lucas returned with drinks, and Elizabeth and Charlotte excused themselves, pretexting that they needed to find Kitty and Maria. None noticed that Miss Bingley had left the room. And few noticed that moments later, Wickham was partaking in the gathering, nearly anonymous in the crowd.

Elizabeth almost ran into Wickham in her haste to get away from Mr. Darcy. She had felt his eyes following her movements and felt slightly insecure which piqued her to no end. Sure, he had made it plenty clear that he disapproved of her, but did he need to be so blatant in his condescension? Even Miss Bingley did not spend so much time and effort criticizing Lydia. Could Mr. Darcy not entertain himself by appraising and judging someone else? She was aware of the irony for she considered herself a good judge of character and delighted in anything ridiculous. But she was usually more reserved and polite about it – Sir William Lucas and Mr. Collins were totally unaware of what Elizabeth really thought of them.

"Mr. Wickham! I was not aware you had been invited," Elizabeth was too shocked to be polite. She even thought she faintly remembered Mr. Bingley telling Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr. Darcy that Wickham had not been invited.

Wickham smiled and replied, "How could I stay away knowing you would be here?"

His charm did not appear to work in the least, both Elizabeth and Charlotte were staring at him with something akin to disgust. He needed to take drastic action, especially because he could see a thunderous-looking Darcy striding towards them, closely followed by Colonel Fitzwilliam.

He raised his voice, "Are we not betrothed after all?"

And he leaned in, embracing a stunned Elizabeth in his arms and lowering his head, but not quickly enough for he was violently pulled back by his collar and Elizabeth stumbled out of his grasp.

"What are you doing?" roared Darcy, holding a visibly shaken Wickham, who was starting to wonder if the compensation was worth the beating it seemed he was about to receive.

"We are engaged!" snapped Wickham, shrugging off Darcy with a violent motion of his arm. He made to grasp for Elizabeth's arm, but Darcy stepped in front of her, blocking him.

"You would not be stopping anything we haven't done before," jeered Wickham with a nasty grin.

Darcy slowly turned his head to talk to Elizabeth, but kept his eyes trained on Wickham.

"Miss Bennet, are you engaged to his man?" _Not a man, a scoundrel_ , he thought.

"I am not," she replied in a shaky voice, "Nor have I ever embraced or kissed him."

Darcy nodded his understanding, "He is trying to defame you through his lies."

The crowd, who had been watching the scene unfold with a lot of interest, gasped at this. However, what was to follow was scarcely less shocking. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam each grasped one arm of Wickham's and dragged him outside, closely followed by a slightly anxious-looking Bingley.

"There's nothing to see here," Miss Bingley said in a cold voice, and people slowly turned back to their conversations.

Elizabeth was still reeling from shock, and Charlotte, quickly joined by Jane, helped her to a seat.

Soon, Mrs. Bennet was fussing over her.

"Oh my the awful things that man said! I cannot believe we ever let him into our home! Oh dear, what will people think? You _were_ very affectionate with him in the past."

"I am well, thank you for your concern, Mama."

"Lizzy, perhaps you ought to marry the man to quieten any rumours."

But Mr. Bennet had come up to them and angrily replied that Elizabeth would do no such thing. Mrs. Bennet was quickly reassured when she realised that Mr. Darcy's authority when he declared Wickham a liar had convinced the scene's audience that Elizabeth had not behaved inappropriately.

"This could have happened to any lady in this room," Sir William Lucas declared firmly, and Elizabeth felt a rush of gratitude.

She glanced towards the doors, wondering what had happened to the four men. When the room occasionally quietened, they heard noises and loud voices that were not reassuring. Bingley was the first to return. Jane heaved a sigh of relief when she saw him. He walked towards and inquired after Elizabeth's wellbeing. Elizabeth reassured him that she was fine. Charlotte could not help but ask, "Mr. Bingley, what is happening outside?"

Mr. Bingley shifted uncomfortably on this feet, "I just wanted to know how Mr. Wickham had entered Netherfield uninvited. He was not being very talkative so... they are trying to get him to cooperate. As the host, I feel it is a gross negligence on my part that Wickham managed to come in."

Bingley apologised profusely and Elizabeth reassured him that it was not his fault in the least.

"I think Colonel Forster will personally see to it that Mr. Wickham is never accepted in the regiment again. This man is a disgrace to the profession," Bingley was strangely animated, "I have never seen Darcy so angry." He glanced towards the doors, where a group of curious people were trying to catch a glimpse, "I fear that by now things have turned even more hostile..." He did not want to worry the ladies unnecessarily, but it was clear to everyone that the tone outside could not be conciliatory.

Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr. Darcy eventually re-emerged. There was no sign of Wickham.

Mr. Darcy made his way over to them.

"Miss Bennet, I hope you are alright," he said, his eyes gentle and full of concern.

"I am, Sir. I thank you for your interference."

"Not at all. If only I had spoken sooner on this man's character..."

"You did warn us and he managed to sneak in uninvited," replied Elizabeth, who felt nothing but relief and gratitude.

"How did he get in, did you manage to find out, Darcy?" asked Bingley.

"I am not sure exactly, but perhaps we should discuss this matter later," replied Darcy, who had no wish to incriminate anyone in such a public setting, "Wickham's word is not to be trusted after all."

Elizabeth looked down to Darcy's hand and noticed that small blue prints were appearing on his knuckles. She couldn't help a slight gasp and Darcy, following her trail of sight, quickly moved his arms in an attempt to get his long sleeves to cover the marks.

It dawned on Elizabeth that Darcy had proven to be her most avid defender. That night, she found it difficult to fall asleep. Mr. Darcy's guilty feelings of his tardive exposure of Wickham were not enough to justify this display of violence. She began to doubt whether Mr. Darcy was looking at her to find fault and criticize. Perhaps Charlotte had been right when she had suggested that Mr. Darcy harboured feelings for her. Elizabeth would never have believed it a few hours ago, but it now seemed like the only possible explanation.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you all for the support. Next chapter is already here. Enjoy :) I'm writing to procrastinate from studying haha :D

 **Chapter 11**

Part 1

Mr. Darcy was standing in Mr. Bingley's study at Netherfield.

"Well?" queried Mr. Bingley, "Did Wickham tell you how he entered Netherfield unnoticed?"

Darcy hesitated slightly before replying, "He entered through a servant's entrance at the back."

Bingley frowned, "But surely someone must have opened the door for him?"

There was a short silence.

"Darcy, I understand if you do not want to get a servant in trouble, and I can assure you that there will not be any undeserved punishment, but I do need to know. You know me – I won't reproach a careless servant harshly, but as the host, I do need to avoid future occurrences like this."

"You are right, of course, Bingley," replied Darcy evenly, "And I have every intention of telling you because it is very important. What happened to Miss Bennet was unacceptable. I am merely thinking of how best to broach this subject, because it is a sensitive matter, and I do not wish to offend you, as my particular friend. Moreover, I find it difficult to take Wickham at his word."

"That is understandable, but perhaps your fists were motivation enough for that scoundrel to finally stop lying through his teeth."

"I doubt that," replied Darcy, "Nevertheless, here it is. Wickham claims that your sister invited him and that she let him in."

Bingley was stunned, uncomprehending, "My sister? Caroline or Louisa?"

"Miss Bingley," replied Darcy, unwilling to use either Miss Bingley or Mrs. Hurst's Christian names.

"Why on earth would Caroline do such a thing?" Bingley was flabbergasted.

"Wickham wouldn't say. I suspect there is more to his story, but he left before I could find out more. He is extremely duplicitous, I wouldn't put it past him to have something else up his sleeve. The question is: what does he have to gain by incriminating your sister?"

Bingley frowned, "I will talk to her to see what she has to say on the matter. Hopefully we shall never hear from Mr. Wickham again."

Part 2

Meanwhile, Miss Bingley was opening her mail when she found a letter that stunned her to the utmost. The gall of that man! She had initially thought he would be the perfect pawn in her ploy, only to now realise the extent of her mistake. Not only had he failed his well-paid mission, he was now blackmailing her! Unless she sent him more money, he would explain to her brother that she had tasked him with compromising Elizabeth Bennet publicly. Miss Bingley was stunned and angry. It was out of the question that she would give this man one more penny. And her brother should never find out, he would not be able to forgive her this. Not telling him about Miss Bennet's presence in London had been bad enough, but this would be the last straw to break the camel's back. Her brother was kind, but she wouldn't put it past him to be unforgiving this time. She could already see herself being told to leave Netherfield. She turned her eyes back to the letter. Could that wretched man not die in a drunken fight already! Had he not messed with enough people that an enemy would cut his throat? Preferably before he had time to divulge any information.

There was a knock at the door, and she quickly hid the letter in the middle of the stack.

"Enter," she said.

She blanched a little when her brother came in but did her best to keep her composure.

"Yes, brother? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Caroline. The events yesterday evening were a little trying, but I must speak with you on this matter, it cannot be delayed."

"Yes, yesterday was awful. Imagine what that man could have done! He could have attacked _me_!" She pretended to shudder at the thought.

"Yes, well..." Bingley cleared his throat, "He claims that you invited him and that you let him enter through a servant's door."

"And why would I do such a thing?" asked Miss Bingley.

"I'm not sure, you tell me."

"Charles, you cannot be serious. What are you thinking? That I fell for the man and decided to invite my beau despite him being scorned by all society? That I would sneak him in and that he would pass unnoticed when he has been the talk of town for the past few days?"

"I do not think you admire him. I do wonder at your motives. Darcy is hesitant to condemn you because he does not trust Wickham one bit. But I've just been to talk to the servants and one saw you leave the room shortly before Wickham accosted Miss Bennet."

Miss Bingley snorted and said, "I went to powder my nose, as did many other young ladies."

Mr. Bingley had a kind-hearted disposition, but he knew his sister well and could sense that something was off. But perhaps his sister was still shaken from the previous evening's events.

"You would believe a reputed liar's word over your own sister?" Miss Bingley continued in a scandalized voice.

Bingley decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Look, Caroline, you're right, I should probably not give credence to what this man says. But you can't fault me for asking. I've even wondered... you _do_ appear to dislike Miss Bennet and..."

"Yes, I will readily admit that I'm not very fond of her. I'm also not fond of Catherine and Lydia Bennet, and they haven't been importuned."

"Do you consider Elizabeth Bennet a rival?"

Miss Bingley was surprised. She had underestimated her brother, he was more observant and more quick-witted than she had given him credit for.

"What?" she asked, "A rival in what respect? I highly doubt for her piano skills. Perhaps for her walking skills."

"Do not jest so. You know what I am referring to. You've had your eye on Darcy for a while. And even though he will not admit it, he is clearly halfway in love with her already. What am I saying, after yesterday's display, I'm fairly certain he's head over heels in love. Part of his rage was jealousy-filled."

"I doubt what you say is true, but even if it were, what is it to me? I admit that I admire Mr. Darcy, and as far as I'm aware, he is not engaged to another, so there is nothing standing in my way. Do you really believe I would stoop so low to harm a supposed rival? We have had this conversation before. I do _not_ use paltry devices, mean arts, or cunning. I show my admiration and hope my affections will be returned."

She neglected to mention that what she really admired about Mr. Darcy was his fortune. Her brother appeared convinced. He apologised briefly for doubting her, and left. Now she had to sort out Wickham's blackmail before her failed ploy fully blew up in her face.


	12. Chapters 12-14

Three chapters in one update (12, 13, 14), although they are short chapters.

Okay, I'm not sure where I'm going with chapter 14, but a review by lhatfield2013 inspired me and it was great fun to write. In chapter 14, I might have found it difficult to stay within the norms and language of the Regency era, so my apologies for that, I hope it's not too obvious.

 **Chapter 12**

"Oh! Mr. Bennet, come look! Here they are!"

"Who, my dear?" asked Mr. Bennet in a bored voice. He had no intention of going to the window to spy on the newcomers.

"Why, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy of course! Since that dreadful man manhandled our daughter, we have not seen them. I am sure they have come to enquire after Lizzy."

For once, Mrs. Bennet was right.

Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy entered the drawing room and voiced their polite enquiries after Elizabeth's well-being.

Mary was sent to fetch Jane and Elizabeth who had been taking a stroll in the back garden.

When Elizabeth entered the room, Darcy couldn't help the light blush that overspread his cheeks. Surely she must know by now. His behaviour could not leave her in any doubt. He was not as distressed at the thought of her knowing as he had imagined he would be. He no longer knew what he thought about raising false hopes.

When he caught her eye, she blushed and averted her eyes. _What I would give to know her thoughts,_ thought Darcy. After a short and somewhat awkward discussion due to the large group taking part, Mrs. Bennet decided that action was needed if she was to marry off her daughters. She not so ingeniously but efficiently suggested that Jane and Elizabeth show the gentlemen the garden. She was convinced it was only a matter of time before Bingley offered for her eldest, and the recent events had awoken her to the possibility of the proud - but suddenly more agreeable in her eyes now that he was a potential suitor - Darcy offering for her least deserving daughter.

With Jane and Mr. Bingley strolling ahead of them, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy settled in uncomfortable silence. At length, Elizabeth spoke up, "Let me thank you again for your interference, Mr. Darcy."

"Not at all," he replied softly, "My only regret is that I waited so long before exposing him."

There was a short silence, Elizabeth was unsure of how to reply. In order to divert the conversation a little, lest she should accidentally ask a question related to his motives and the extent of the anger he had displayed, she asked, "Have you found out how Mr. Wickham came to attend the gathering?"

It did not seem to be the right question to ask either. His face betrayed some hesitance, but he readily replied, "He accused Miss Bingley of inviting him and letting him enter through a servant's entrance."

Elizabeth gasped, "Miss Bingley! Why am I not as surprised as I should be."

Mr. Darcy raised an eyebrow, "You believe his word unequivocally?"

She looked at him archly and replied in the same way, "You don't?"

He let out a humourless chuckle, "I'm afraid I've got many reasons to doubt him, as you are well aware."

"Perhaps," replied she, "But I also have many reasons to doubt Miss Bingley."

"I will grant you that Miss Bingley is not the most trustworthy person, but what motive would she have?"

Elizabeth hesitated, they were veering into dangerous territory if the subject of Miss Bingley's jealousy due to Darcy's admiration of herself came up.

She felt a bit angry but unwilling to bring up a topic she was not yet ready to face, she said, "Perhaps you do not realise the true extent of Miss Bingley's deceptive character because she has flattered your pride and your vanity."

Mr. Darcy looked affronted.

"I beg your pardon," he replied coldly, "I did acknowledge that she was not trustworthy, although I thought it worth mentioning that she is nowhere near comparable to George Wickham. I would have thought so much was obvious."

"If she did let him in for a nefarious purpose, then she is very much comparable to him. In fact, I've venture further and say that if she engineered the whole thing, she might be worse."

Darcy scoffed, "Engineered the whole thing!" he repeated.

It was Elizabeth's turn to be offended.

"Why not?" she retorted, "It is a logical conclusion."

"How so?" She wanted to wipe the arrogant smirk off his face. _So he thought he knew everything best, didn't he?_ She'd been pushed to the subject she seeked to avoid.

"Miss Bingley has been running after you for a while..."

"I'm aware."

His interruption provoked her to say, "Though perhaps for motives related to fortune more than anything else..."

"Are you implying that my fortune is the only reason a lady would admire me?"

She did not deign reply, but continued, "And she is green with jealousy because she believes you entertain feelings for me."

That silenced him.

Elizabeth dared not ask, _Do you?_ because she did not want to know the answer. If only she could fool herself into thinking that Mr. Darcy did not admire her.

"I highly doubt that Miss Bingley feels any serious jealousy in that regard," Darcy finally replied, without looking at her. Elizabeth thought his answer over. _Did he mean that there was no reason for Miss Bingley to feel any jealousy or that Miss Bingley was too unaware to feel any?_

"I cannot say for sure that she is indeed the culprit. But I am surprised by your defense of her. You seemed quite angry with Wickham, and now you are shying away from attributing blame."

"I cannot attribute blame without proof," Darcy insisted.

"You're right. But you appear to not even _consider_ the possibility. Well, if you have decided her to be innocent, then by all means do not look further into the matter."

They were interrupted by Jane and Bingley who turned around to join them on the way back to the house. They had been staring at each other angrily, but quickly reclaimed their composure and walked in stiff silence back to the house, with only Jane and Bingley making small talk.

 **Chapter 13**

When Miss Bingley entered the small parlour adjoining her chambers, she was shocked to see her brother standing there, with his eyes crossed across his chest, glaring at her.

"Charles, what are you doing here?"

He stepped forward and lifted a letter that had been lying on her vanity table.

"You have been reading my mail?" Miss Bingley was scandalized.

"You are in position to act offended," Bingley replied.

Miss Bingley noticed that the letter was the one sent by Wickham and she blanched.

"You don't believe those lies?" she asked weakly.

Bingley snorted, "If they were lies, why did he send you this letter, and why did you not come forward with it as soon as you received it?"

Miss Bingley opened her mouth but no sound came out.

"It's just as I thought. Pack your things."

"Brother, you cannot be serious."

"I am perfectly serious. Leave Netherfield today. You are not to spend one more night under my roof."

"Where shall I go?"

"You should have thought of that before deciding on a Machiavellian plan to get rid of your rival."

"Machiavellian! Such an exaggeration was never heard before! Miss Eliza is quite unharmed."

"Thanks to Mr. Darcy. It could have been much worse. Do not try to downplay what you did, you are only making me angrier," Bingley replied, irate.

"Well then, I will just have to go say my goodbyes to Louisa."

Bingley did not reply.

"It is such sorrow to part from my sister and my brother, but if I must..."

Still, Bingley stood unwavering.

"What are many years of mutual support when a new acquaintance cannot stop meddling in other people's business and suddenly finds a harmless joke not to her liking..."

"Get out!" shouted Bingley, before leaving the parlour and slamming the door behind him. A few seconds later, the door opened again, but he did not walk back in, instead he gruffly said, "If you're not gone in the next hour, I'm throwing your stuff out the window. If you leave now, you can claim to the servants that you left of your own free will, since all you care about is saving face."

 **Chapter 14**

An elegantly dressed lady entered the local pub. The regulars looked at her in astonishment. It was highly improper for an unaccompanied lady to enter such an establishment.

"I am looking for Mr. Wickham," the lady said to the barman, "I was told I could find him here."

Too stunned to reply, the man simply inclined his head towards his right. The lady walked until a darkened corner, where a slightly inebriated Wickham was sitting alone.

"Miss Bingley," he grinned, looking up at her, "How lovely to see you. Tell me you have come with the money I requested. I am skint right now, and alcohol is not free. A man does need something to heal."

He did, in fact, look a bit bruised up. _Perhaps he should use the alcohol to disinfect his wounds instead of drinking it,_ thought Miss Bingley.

"I gave you money very recently," she pointed out, while turning her nose up at him.

"Aye, but that is all gone now. You underestimate my spending capacity." He grinned wolfishly, "But I won't have to worry now that I have found a perfect source of income. A wealthy lady that I need not even pursue," he laughed heartily.

"I am glad you find this amusing," she replied, "For you are not getting a penny more out of me. In fact, you did not even do your task satisfactorily," she complained.

"Would you like to add a review to the Visitor's Book to complain about the after-sales service? Do not fail to mention the beating I received."

"You deserved it for failing."

"Now look here, missy, you are going to give me the money I ask for. Otherwise, your dear brother and your beloved Mr. Darcy will find out what you did. In detail. Including what my task was and what the end goal was."

"They already know."

"If that were true, then I would have to wonder at what you are doing here, talking with me."

"It is true. I have another reason to be here."

"Do you now?" Wickham was clearly doubtful.

"I'm just waiting for someone."

Wickham laughed again. His face was full of merriment which was comical to watch considering the state his face was in.

"Well, while we wait," It was obvious Wickham did not believe a word Miss Bingley was saying, "Why don't you tell me what you ever saw in the pedantic stiff who used to be my childhood friend? Is it Pemberley or the ten thousand a year? You are just like me."

A burly man entered the bar at that moment, and Miss Bingley turned to him with a sweet smile and motioned for him to come over to them.

"Ah, Mr. Clarke, so glad you could make it. Here is the man who impregnated your daughter Mary. You must have heard of him, his reputation precedes him, a trail of ruined girls lies in his wake – the notorious and infamous Mr. Wickham."

She smiled sweetly at Wickham and turned around to leave.

"I don't know any Mary Clarke..." muttered Wickham.

Miss Bingley mouthed "sweet, sweet revenge" to him as she left.

And then the first punch fell.

"That wench!" Wickham said while holding the side of his head, but his tone was laced with admiration at her cunning. She was even more devious than Mrs. Younge.


	13. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Bingley entered the drawing room where Mr. Hurst, Mrs. Hurst, and Colonel Fitzwilliam were setting up a game of cards. Mr. Darcy was reading a book.

"Ah," said the colonel, "Mr. Bingley, will you not join us for a game of cards?"

"Thank you, Colonel Fitzwilliam, but I am not inclined to play cards right now."

"Charles, why is there a coach leaving Netherfield at this late hour?" asked Mrs. Hurst while looking out the window.

"Because I wouldn't let Caroline borrow one of my carriages. She is leaving now," replied Bingley in a grim tone.

Mrs. Hurst was surprised, "Why is she leaving?"

Bingley sank heavily into an armchair and ran a hand across his tired face.

"I found a letter from Wickham in her parlour. She paid Wickham to ruin Elizabeth Bennet. I asked her to leave."

Mr. Darcy's book slid to the floor, and he sprung up.

"You kicked her out?" asked Mrs. Hurst.

"Louisa, she tried to ruin one of my guests, a close friend. What else could I possibly do? She brought this upon herself."

Darcy was visibly shaking with anger, "I agree with your decision, Charles. If she were still here, I would tell her what I think of her tactics."

Mr. Hurst, realising that no one was interested in starting the game of cards anymore, relented and decided to partake in the conversation, "Why did Miss Bingley do such a thing?" he asked.

Colonel Fitzwilliam could not help thinking that Mr. Hurst was a bit oblivious to everything going on around him. He did not seem to know his sister-in-law very well. The colonel did not know Miss Bingley long, but it had taken less than the length of a carriage ride from London to Hertfordshire to realise that Miss Bingley was jealous of how Elizabeth Bennet had captivated his cousin.

"Let us ask my cousin," replied Colonel Fitzwilliam with a teasing lilt in his voice.

"Fitzwilliam," said Darcy in a warning voice.

"What?" replied the colonel with feigned innocence.

"I hardly think now is the time for your teasing."

"I am sure Miss Elizabeth Bennet would disagree with you here. It seems the perfect occasion for some light teasing. The stern Mr. Darcy inspiring many young ladies to fight for his attention. Oh, it is most amusing," Colonel Fitzwilliam chuckled, but he was the only one. Mr. Hurst was still confused, and the others were not in the mood for laughter. Colonel Fitzwilliam sobered up and decided to warn his cousin who seemed too infatuated to recognise a key obstacle.

"Miss Bingley might have been jealous, but she should have realised there was no real danger."

Mr. Darcy averted his eyes and spoke quietly, because he did not want Mr. and Mrs. Hurst to overhear, "You mean because I am raising false hopes?"

"No, Darcy, I mean because it seems highly unlikely that Miss Bennet would accept you if you ever finally deigned propose."

Mr. Darcy looked stunned for a moment, before sneering, "Why would she?"

The colonel lowered his voice as well, because he had no desire to embarrass Darcy, but he thought his cousin needed to know the truth.

"During our conversations, she has made it clear to me that she dislikes you. I'm sorry, Darcy, but you have not won the lady's affections. And she has declared that only the deepest love would induce her into matrimony. I am telling you so that you do not make a fool of yourself and suffer unnecessarily."

"She dislikes me?" Mr. Darcy's voice was so quiet now that Colonel Fitzwilliam almost didn't hear him.

"I'm sorry," replied the colonel while looking at Darcy's crestfallen face.


	14. Chapters 16 & 17

Ihatfield2013: I completely agree with what you wrote about Wickham flattering Lizzy and her succumbing for some time. In Chapter 16, I tried to highlight the parallel you mentioned.

tarlily: Agreed haha, they would make a very destructive team.

As always, thank you to all who reviewed, I do read every single review, and appreciate the support :)

 **Chapter 16**

The next day, Darcy needed to clear his head, ruminating could do no good. He decided to go horse-riding in the countryside. His plan to distract himself backfired spectacularly when he happened across the object of his thoughts. Elizabeth had gone for an early morning walk and seemed just as surprised to encounter him here.

"Miss Bennet," he said politely.

"Mr. Darcy," she greeted back.

Darcy dismounted his horse and offered to walk with her, and she agreed.

"Miss Bennet, Mr. Bingley and myself had planned to call at Longbourn later today to share some news. However, due to this most fortuitous meeting, I shall tell you now. You were right. Miss Bingley was behind Wickham's attack. Her brother has sent her away from Netherfield."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Bingley found an incriminating letter," Darcy paused before continuing, "While I still maintain that there was previously no tangible evidence against her, I think your accusation was just. Perhaps I was partly blinded by her flattery."

Elizabeth realised how much it must cost Mr. Darcy to admit to this and she was slightly mollified, "Well, I am not irreproachable on that matter either. Wickham flattered my vanity, which is why I easily believed the lies he told me about you."

Mr. Darcy sighed, "You are not to blame, I fear my behaviour and Wickham's manners tended to lend his lies credibility. I would like to apologise for my general behaviour, and also most particularly the way I acted when I refused to take the accusations against Miss Bingley seriously. Regardless of my opinions, which turned out to be erroneous anyway, I should not have dismissed your worries the way I did. I should have looked further into the matter."

Elizabeth was surprised but readily accepted his apology. She did not know what else to add, and remained quiet. After a while, Mr. Darcy spoke up again, in a slightly subdued voice, "It has recently come to my attention that you may not be very fond of me."

Elizabeth blushed a little but tried her utmost to hide her mortification at his direct, yet understated, words. Then, the exact wording sunk in.

"It has recently come to your attention?" she repeated, flabbergasted, "Do you mean to tell me that you did not know before?"

He shook his head, looking forlorn.

"Until recently, I believed that the feeling was mutual," explained Elizabeth.

"I thank you for your honesty," replied Darcy, "But let me assure you that the feeling is not mutual. In fact, I am... quite fond of you."

He finished his last sentence rapidly.

Elizabeth felt all the awkwardness of the situation and tried to come up with an appropriate reply,

"Sir, while I cannot in all honesty reply the same, let me just say that part of my dislike was founded on Wickham's lies and that now that the truth has come to light, my opinion of you has greatly improved. Furthermore, I am still very grateful for your interference. I fear I may have misjudged you."

Darcy was slightly consoled by her words, but he had picked up on something else, "You say that _part_ of your dislike was based on the lies you had been told. What were the other reasons?"

Elizabeth did not think there was an elegant or polite way to broach such a subject, but after all, he had asked.

"Your manners impressed me with the belief that you were arrogant and disdainful of other people's feelings."

She could tell that Mr. Darcy was vexed, and hastened to continue to explain her position more fully, "I may not have been a very impartial judge though, because my vanity suffered when you called me tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt you."

Mr. Darcy gasped and looked pained, "Oh my, you heard that? I apologise most profusely, Miss Bennet, it was very ungenerous of me to make such a comment, and I did not truly believe it. I was in a foul mood because – I tell you this because I trust your secrecy – the events that Colonel Fitzwilliam narrated did not concern a friend, but my own younger sister, Georgiana. I had returned from Ramsgate where I interfered in the planned elopement, and I was in no humour to meet people and dance... I will admit that I am generally unsociable and reserved but at that time, I was most particularly displeased. I was trying to convince Bingley to let me be. I am ashamed that you ever heard me utter such ungentlemanly words."

Elizabeth accepted his apology immediately, and felt particularly honoured that he trusted her with the information that his sister had been Wickham's target.

After she had reassured Darcy that she no longer took offence at what he had said, she added with a smile, "Let us not quarrel over who is most to blame, I fear neither of our behaviours are beyond reproof. Instead, now that we have cleared these matters, perhaps we can hope to start anew. I shall begin to sketch your character again, based on new information," she said the last sentence with a teasing lilt in her voice and Darcy smiled back.

 **Chapter 17**

Part 1

The very next day after deciding that she would give Mr. Darcy a second chance, a surprise awaited Elizabeth when the mail arrived. She was astonished to find a letter from Miss Bingley. She was extremely apprehensive yet curious, knew not what to expect, and the contents stunned her utterly.

 _To Miss Elizabeth Bennet,_

 _I am sure you have heard the news by now, and I can imagine your delight in having me thrown away by my brother._

 _Do not expect this letter to contain an apology for the role I have been accused of playing in your near-ruin by Mr. Wickham._

 _I am merely writing to inform you of something I believe to be of importance. Do not bother thanking me. Mr. Darcy was a key actor in getting my brother to stay in London by convincing him of your sister's indifference. He knew of your sister being in town and willingly hid this from him. Mr. Darcy congratulates himself on having saved Charles from this most imprudent marriage. You can imagine the objections to the match, if only you had heard Mr. Darcy's tirade on your family!_

 _Wishing you the best of health, to you and your equally lovely family,_

 _Unrepentant as ever,_

 _Caroline Bingley_

 _Well,_ Elizabeth thought while carelessly dropping the letter, _that resolution did not last long._ She could feel renewed anger at Mr. Darcy and had none to spare for Miss Bingley's odious letter. What an insufferable, contradictory man he was! Of course she would need to ask him for confirmation, but a sinking feeling in her gut told her that, for once, Miss Bingley was saying the truth.

Part 2

Mr. Bingley received a letter much in the same vein. He exploded with fury and asked his friend why he had not come forward to denounce his participation sooner.

"I would have confessed," Darcy insisted.

"When?" growled Bingley, "It's bad enough that you hid Miss Bennet's presence in town from me, but that I had to discover this _now_ from _Caroline_! I blamed only Caroline and Louisa at the time, and you did not come forward then, and you didn't come forward since."

"We returned here to expose Wickham's character, everything else could wait. Besides, I thought when we got to Hertfordshire, you would find out that Jane Bennet was in town. I had not expected her to have returned to Longbourn already. I'm sorry, Charles, I should have told you as soon as I knew. And I should have been honest about my involvement – I would have been, I wanted to tell you after we exposed Wickham, but then I got distracted by the following events."

Bingley calmed a little when he realised that Darcy being delayed was understandable considering everything that had happened since. However, he was still not fully satisfied, and Darcy worsened this with his next words.

"What if Miss Bingley sent a similar letter to Miss Elizabeth?" Darcy was anxiously biting his lip.

Bingley fumed.

"Darcy, I am asking you how you could withhold crucial information from me and hide your involvement, and all you are worried about is that my sister also exposed you to Miss Elizabeth? I tell you what, if she did, you most certainly deserved it! Because you are a coward who has refused to come clean! I hardly recognise you anymore." The last words were said with a definite sadness. Bingley felt disoriented, as if his world was turning upside down. The last few weeks had put a particular strain on him and he sank down into his armchair from pure exhaustion.


	15. Chapter 18

Thank you all for the reviews. I think I might be starting to run out of ideas a little bit. I hope that Elizabeth's change in feelings is not too sudden.

Anna Eliza: I agree, I debated a lot about if I should have Mr. Bingley send away Miss Bingley. I tried to do a bit of research on the Regency era, but I'm still not really familiar with most of the norms of the time, so it's very possible that this is not a realistic scenario at all. By ruined, do you mean because she's travelling post/by coach by herself? Perhaps we can pretend she has a servant with her, I think something similar was mentioned in P&P when Elizabeth and Maria were travelling from Kent to London and then to Hertfordshire (Chapter 37). Miss Bingley is not resourceless though. I haven't yet decided where she is gone, but I assume she has other family members that can take her in, and I think it is mentioned in the book that she has a personal fortune/dowry? It wasn't my intention for her to be ruined.

 **Chapter 18**

The next day, Mr. Darcy watched Mr. Bingley calling for his horse to be prepared.

"Charles, are you going to call at Longbourn?"

"Yes," replied Mr. Bingley stiffly.

"Would you mind if I joined?" asked Darcy uncertainly.

Mr. Bingley hesitated. He had not kicked Darcy out of Netherfield as he had done with his sister, but he had not yet fully forgiven him.

"Please, Charles," pleaded Darcy, "I'll be on my best behaviour."

Bingley's eyes opened wide. It felt as if there had been a power shift in their relationship. Darcy was now asking his permission to join as if he were a petulant child insisting to get his way.

"Oh, all right," replied Bingley gruffly, "but you do know that you do not need me in order to call at Longbourn? You are acquainted with the family, it would not be untoward of you to call without me."

"I highly doubt I would be as welcomed on my own. Mrs. Bennet tolerates my presence when you are here merely for your sake."

Bingley could not disagree, and they set off together.

"Mrs. Bennet disapproves of you because of how you behaved when we first came to Hertfordshire," said Bingley after a while. Some time ago, he would not have broached such a subject but his displeasure with his friend's actions made him braver.

"You're right, Bingley," admitted Darcy, and Bingley nearly fell off his horse in surprise, before letting out a nervous chuckle.

"Could the mighty Darcy be admitting to a mistake or a flaw?" Mr. Bingley could not resist teasing his friend.

The corners of Mr. Darcy's mouth lifted slightly in amusement, thereby stunning Bingley even more, "Miss Elizabeth told me of that my manners indicated arrogance and a disdain for other's people's feelings."

Mr. Bingley's mouth dropped open in shock. He eventually closed it again, then narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his friend, "And yet you're on your way to Longbourn? And you're worried about her opinion of you if she knows of your involvement in her sister's affairs?"

Mr. Darcy shrugged his shoulders, which was uncharacteristic of him, "She was right. I _did_ behave arrogantly and disdainfully, and I am now trying to change."

"Well," replied Bingley, a little shocked, "well, well. I daresay you have already started to amend your behaviour. I always knew what a good fellow you are, but it will be a nice change to have the world realise it as well, so that they do not always question my sanity when they see that we are friends."

Mr. Darcy could not help roaring with laughter at that, and Mr. Bingley joined in. Some of the tension between the two friends eased, and Darcy was hopefully that Bingley had already started forgiving him.

"You know, I almost fell off my horse when you admitted I was right on your behaviour antagonising Mrs. Bennet," said Bingley, still laughing.

"I noticed," replied Darcy with mirth in his eyes, "Let's hope Miss Elizabeth Bennet does not trip while walking when she sees my improved manners." This led to another bout of merriment.

When Longbourn came in sight, Darcy's nervousness helped him sober up. He noticed that Bingley was also growing fidgety and asked him about it.

"Why are you nervous, Charles? You have to reason to fear. _Your_ Miss Bennet has no reason to think ill of you."

"I know, I know," replied Bingley.

Darcy than noticed that his friend was dressed in particularly elegant clothing that morning. He had clearly taken care of his appearance, more so than usual, even for a visit to his beloved.

"Oh, my," said Darcy, as realization sunk in, "Charles, you are planning on proposing today unless I am much mistaken."

"And what if I am?" replied Bingley defiantly.

Darcy raised his hands, still holding his horse's reins, in mock surrender, "By all means, I have learned my lesson and will not interfere in your happiness. You will hear no objections from me. In fact, I wish you the best of luck and I hope you will secure her hand."

Bingley hesitated slightly, "Not that it matters, but are you still convinced that she is indifferent to me?"

"I do not know. I fear I am not as much of an astute observer as I thought. I had not taken notice of Miss Elizabeth Bennet's dislike on me, so how could I accurately assess Miss Jane Bennet's feelings for you? I fear I am in the dark on the issue. I trust that you are more confident in your knowledge of her feelings."

Bingley straightened his shoulders, "Yes, I am. I believe her to be genuinely in love with me, as much as I am with her. When we saw each other again… she made it clear that she had missed me when I left Hertfordshire. I truly believe my departure pained her because she returns my affections."

Mr. Darcy nodded his head, "Then I daresay there is no need to be so nervous. If she returns your affections, she will accept you, and I will extend my blessings."

Bingley smiled, thanked his friend, and then dismounted his horse for they had arrived at Longbourn.

When they were introduced in the presence of Mrs. Bennet and her daughters, Darcy anxiously scanned Elizabeth's face. She was glaring at him with barely concealed anger.

 _Yes,_ thought Darcy, wincing, _Miss Bingley has informed her._

"It is such a fine day outside," Mr. Bingley was saying, "Why don't we all take a walk towards Meryton?"

They all left, with Mr. Bingley and Jane leading the group, and Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth at the end. Soon, Kitty and Lydia overtook Mr. Bingley and their sister, because they were in a hurry to reach Meryton, where the officers were still quartered. Of course, Wickham had left, but Lydia had now set her sights on Denny. Mary went to call on Maria Lucas.

Elizabeth resolved to address the subject of Miss Bingley's letter, but Mr. Darcy was faster, "Miss Bennet, from your expression I can guess that _Miss Bingley_ ," Mr. Darcy's voice took on a hard edge when he pronounced Miss Bingley's name, Elizabeth could practically hear the venom in his voice, "has informed you that I interfered in my friend's and your sister's relation."

Elizabeth was surprised, "Yes, Sir, but how did you know?"

"Mr. Bingley received a letter, I imagine similar to the one you received."

Elizabeth glanced with surprise at Mr. Bingley's back; Mr. Bingley and Jane were now quite a lot ahead of them.

"And yet he forgave you?"

"He has not yet said that he has forgiven me, but I expect he soon will when his mood improves at his realization that my interference did not ruin anything, but merely delay the inevitable. He is a better friend than I deserve."

Elizabeth's eyebrows rose, and there were many questions she wanted to ask. Prioritising her sister's happiness, she asked with barely concealed eagerness, "By 'delaying the inevitable', do you mean that Mr. Bingley intends to propose to Jane?"

"Indeed, in fact I believe that this is the chief reason for his visit today."

"Oh, Jane will be so delighted, so happy," said Elizabeth smiling, her spirits lifting.

This reassured Mr. Darcy that Jane was indeed in love with his friend.

Elizabeth turned her eyes towards Mr. Darcy with an enigmatic smile, "And what do you think of it, Mr. Darcy? Do you deplore at the knowledge of your friend's new family?"

"Indeed, I do not, Mr. Bingley will be gaining a remarkable sister-in-law." He cocked his head in her direction, and she blushed.

"Don't you pity him for having to endure the follies of some of her relatives?"

"Everyone has relatives that make them blush. My aunt, for example, would be enough to scare away any potential match for me."

Elizabeth laughed at that, "She must be a fearsome thing then, if she could scare away Miss Bingley."

They laughed in good humour for a while, before Elizabeth grew serious again, and she frowned, "I must admit that I was disappointed to find out about your involvement," she sighed, "and even more so, I was disappointed that you did not disclose this to me when we last spoke."

"Miss Elizabeth," his tone was grave, "I do realise that I have disappointed you exceedingly, and for that I apologise most profusely. However, please believe me when I say that I distanced my friend from your sister because I believe her to be indifferent." Elizabeth opened her mouth in outrage, but Darcy quickly continued, "From what you said earlier, I gather that I was wrong. I have also learned that my sense of observation is not as good as I flattered myself to believe, because I did not notice your dislike of me, and I did not notice your sister's admiration for my friend. Now I can see that you wished I'd disclosed my interference earlier, even if it made you think ill of me."

Elizabeth sighed, slightly mollified, "I do not dislike you anymore, Mr. Darcy. In fact, despite how insufferable you occasionally prove to be, I find that I am growing quite fond of you very quickly, which is surprising considering how our conversations seem to revolve around reproofs and apologies."

She was stunned to see that a bright smile was spreading across his face. She had rather expected his mood to turn sour when she called him 'insufferable'.

"You are growing fond of me?" he asked in a whisper.

"Quite," she replied and blushed.

"Then, may I call on you more often? I will need a lot of conversations to make you grow fonder of me, ideally conversations where less reproofs and apologies will be necessary."

She smiled and acquiesced.

That evening, after Bingley had talked with Mr. Bennet in Mr. Bennet's private study, Jane was officially betrothed and radiating with happiness. Elizabeth felt pleasure at her sister's happiness and contemplated how such happiness might one day be her own as she thought of Mr. Darcy.


	16. Chapter 19 Letters as leverage

Author's notes are at the bottom of the chapter this time; read at the end (if you're interested) to avoid any spoilers.

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

 **'An unexpected visitor' or 'Letters as leverage'**

Miss Bingley descended the stairs and entered the lobby, only to see a post-boy in scarlet livery being admitted into her aunt's house.

"An express has just come," the maid informed her before exiting the lobby, presumably to inform Mrs. Deveney.

Miss Bingley glanced uninterestedly at the post-boy before nearly stumbling in shock. It was Wickham and he was grinning at her wickedly.

"How did you find me?" she hissed.

"I have my sources," replied Wickham with a wink, and Miss Bingley suspected that Wickham had many connections in town, presumably mostly disreputable ones.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Do you seek to ruin me by coming by for a courtesy visit?"

Wickham's grin widened, "I am dressed as a post-boy. Nothing scandalous is happening here." But his eyes seemed to tell a different story.

"Scandal follows you wherever you go," Miss Bingley scoffed, "What do you want?"

"To deliver a message, I am a post-boy after all."

Miss Bingley was irked by his behaviour but decided to play along in hopes of getting rid of him faster.

"What is the message?"

"That revenge is available and in order."

Miss Bingley shuddered, "So you _are_ trying to ruin my reputation. Revenge for our last encounter, is it? Mr. Clarke was not very nice to you? Surely this is not the first time you have found yourself in such a situation."

"I usually avoid hanging around long enough for that to happen. I am not seeking revenge against you – at least not just yet. I am offering you an opportunity to take your revenge against Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet."

Miss Bingley waved her hand dismissively, "I am not interested. Yes, I have been jilted by a rich man, now it is time to move on. There are plenty of other rich men, and hopefully I shall be settled in town within the year."

Wickham was annoyed at her dismissal, "Are you not even curious as to what I have to say?"

Miss Bingley huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Say what you have to say and then get out of my aunt's house and out of my life."

Wickham did not appear the least bit discouraged by her aggressive tone.

"You know the story that led to my social demise in Hertfordshire?"

"The parish and the girl?" Miss Bingley summarised succinctly.

"Yes, exactly," he smirked, "the parish and the girl. Well, no time for a preamble I suppose, so let me just say that the girl I nearly eloped with was not a friend of Darcy and his cousin. It was Georgiana Darcy."

Miss Bingley was so stunned that her anger against Wickham flew out the window.

"Georgiana?"

Wickham was evidently pleased with her reaction, "Quite a surprise, eh? And to think I was _so_ close to _thirty thousand pounds_ …" Wickham sighed wistfully.

"I hate to interrupt your daydreams, but what exactly does this have to do with me?"

"Can you not think of some mischievous plan to use this information for revenge?" _Perhaps I have overestimated her,_ thought Wickham.

"Of course, I can," Miss Bingley replied scathingly, "But I am highly suspicious of your motives for telling me. What's in it for you?"

 _Ah, no, he had not overestimated her, she was both cunning and suspicious of his motives – as she should be._

"You mean beyond revenge against Darcy? Well, I am sure it will come to no surprise to you that I still hope to get some more money out of you. I am not a lucky gambler, and I shall soon have to become a real post-boy if I do not secure some funds."

" _No one_ is a lucky gambler," retorted Miss Bingley, "And what incentive would I have to pay you for this information now that you have given it up freely?"

Wickham grinned, "I highly doubt you could convince anyone of Miss Darcy's near-elopement without some proof. People will say these are lies to slander Mr. Darcy because he jilted you. I, on the other hand, _have_ proof. For instance, letters that dear, sweet, naïve Georgiana wrote to me before her brother became aware of my schemes." Wickham's tone was mocking.

Miss Bingley watched him pensively.

"Hm," she said, "So I'm expected to fork out money for letters that would prove Georgiana's near-elopement with you. And then I could use these for revenge. I think I'd rather keep my money and move on."

"Revenge doesn't come cheaply," replied Wickham with a glint in his eyes, "Besides, I am sure you know how much Darcy loves his sister. How much do you think we could get out of him? What would he give to spare little Georgiana any pain?"

Miss Bingley grumbled under her breath. Wickham's offer was tempting, and she was angry at herself for giving in.

"Ten pounds for the letters?" she offered.

Wickham laughed out loud, "Very generous, but not enough. I need more."

Miss Bingley sneered at him, "I'm sure, considering how you are _like all gamblers._ The house always wins."

Wickham roared with laughter, "Right you are. And I'm terrible at cards too, which doesn't help."

"Hard to imagine that you don't cheat and lie at cards," Miss Bingley replied with a small smile, "and yet you still lose? Regardless, I am not upping my offer. Ten or nothing."

Wickham appraised her for a moment, before leaning forward with a renewed gleam in his eyes, "I can't say I'm surprised. Fine, then I have an even better idea. Letters for free, share the cash that Darcy spills."

Miss Bingley narrowed her eyes at him, "Why do you need me in this endeavour? Why haven't you blackmailed Darcy with these letters before?"

"Ah, because the win is better and sweeter when you wait to have the right cards in hand," replied Wickham with an enigmatic smile.

"And I am the right card?" asked Miss Bingley with a raised eyebrow, wondering how she could ever have thought it a good idea to use Wickham as a pawn. _Now, who was playing who?_ She wondered.

"Most assuredly," replied Wickham with a gallant bow.

Miss Bingley hesitated, weighing her next words, "Mr. Wickham, I think our interests diverge, because I have something else in mind for these letters than merely extorting money from Mr. Darcy."

Wickham smirked, "I didn't expect any less of you. Now I am curious. What do you have in mind?"

 _ **End of chapter**_

* * *

Apologies for the cliff-hanger, I still haven't 100% decided how to continue (I'm considering several possibilities) but I wanted to post this chapter already. Also, I think it might be more fun to show what Miss Bingley has in mind rather than have her explain it all now.

Thank you all, nanciellen, GemmaDarcy, ladymurasaki26, Ihatfield2013, MissPhryneFisher, and more. I'm so glad people are reading and enjoying this story. Ihatfield2013, thank you very much, you gave me an idea by mentioning Georgiana. Miss Bingley will continue to try to wreak havoc.

Yes, Miss Bingley left Netherfield with a servant or a personal maid. She's now at her aunt's place in London. Her aunt is Mrs. Deveney.

I hope this chapter still fits the Regency era. According to what I've read, during the Regency era, the recipient paid for the letters, not the sender. So, in this chapter, the maid would be fetching someone to pay the post-boy. Mail was expensive back then, let's assume the maid is not trusted with that much money. Also, I initially wrote "parlour" instead of "lobby", but then I found a website on houses during the Regency, so I hope that the word is correct.

What Miss Bingley is offering for the letters: £10 during the Regency era would be approximately £340 in 2008 according to what I've read online.

I thought I'd try including chapter titles if I could think of any good ones, especially because the chapter numbers no longer align well since I started posting several chapters as one.


	17. Chapter 20 Blackmail

Small edit following a guest review - I replaced the housemaid Ellen with the butler Mr. Ayles. Thank you for helping me keep the story historically accurate.

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Blackmail**

Part 1

Georgiana was playing at the piano in Darcy House in London. The butler, a new man by the name of Mr. Ayles, entered announcing that Miss Bingley and a certain Mr. Hawick were here to call upon her.

A little surprised, Georgiana thanked Mr. Ayles and waited for the unexpected visitors to arrive.

Soon, she could hear Mr. Ayles return, accompanying the visitors who were speaking too loudly to each other for friendly conversation. In fact, it seemed that Miss Bingley and Mr. Hawick were arguing, and they had trouble keeping their voices down. Of course, when they were introduced in Georgiana's presence, common courtesy won out and they fell silent before greeting her. Mr. Ayles quietly left the room. Mr. Hawick was tall, well-dressed, and had a brown beard, which was not the fashion of the moment.

After the introductions were made, Georgiana stared at Mr. Hawick, conscious of her rudeness, but very much puzzled. He looked exceedingly familiar. And then it hit her.

"Mr Wickham!" she nearly screamed with a hand to her heart.

Miss Bingley shot a glare at her companion, muttering, "I told you so," under her breath.

"Well, yes" said Mr. Wickham, removing his fake beard, "Doesn't matter all that much, does it?"

Georgiana glared at her former suitor. She could feel angry tears welling up in her eyes, "What do you want?" she hissed between her teeth. Then, without waiting for a reply, she turned to Miss Bingley, "I received a letter from my brother warning me about you, Miss Bingley. He did not go into particulars, but if I had known you were coming with that scoundrel, I should have turned you away instead of inviting you in."

Miss Bingley, who was no longer concerned about being amiable and attentive to Georgiana as she had in the past, replied curtly, "That would have been a foolish mistake, you silly girl."

Georgiana's natural shyness was greatly overpowered by her exponentially increasing anger, "I repeat my question, what do you want?"

Miss Bingley smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. It was more of a cold smirk really, and Georgiana felt a chill run down her spine.

"Your brother will introduce you, at some point, to a Miss Elizabeth Bennet. You will meet her one-on-one and tell your brother that she treats you abominably ill when he isn't there. That she is two-faced: charming when he's here to see it, and cruel and conniving when he isn't."

Georgiana's mouth gaped open before her senses came back to her, "You mean, two-faced like you? My brother has described Miss Elizabeth Bennet in his letters to me, he has made many laudatory remarks about her, I like her before even meeting her. Why would I do such a thing?"

Wickham pulled out a pile of letters from his jacket and waved them in front of her face before setting them on the piano. Georgiana blanched when she recognised her handwriting and the three love letters she had written to him back when she was fifteen.

"You wouldn't dare."

Wickham laughed a deep sonorous laugh that seemed to reverberate around the room, "Wouldn't I? You were always naïve. Beyond candid, you were just gullible. And a real prig just like your brother."

"William is not a prig!"

"Yes, he is," interrupted Miss Bingley, "But that's not the matter at hand. You will have to fake dislike of Miss Bennet very convincingly."

Mr. Wickham turned to Miss Bingley, "Here lies the fault in your plan, Miss Bingley. Miss Darcy is completely unable to play an act. Her brother will see straight through her and demand the truth, and she will cave. She is too weak."

Georgiana burst into tears and made an angry move in Wickham's direction that sent all the music sheets from the piano onto the floor. Sniffing and wiping her tears with her sleeve, she bent down to pick them up. Mr. Wickham and Miss Bingley continued arguing the merits of their plan, trying to keep their voices down so that Georgiana would not overhear. Finally, Georgiana sank back onto the piano seat, looking defeated. She was hunched over and her eyes were red. She was very nearly shivering.

"Well, that concludes our visit," finally said Miss Bingley, "Try to act your part convincingly. If Mr. Darcy proposes to Miss Bennet, we will ruin your reputation."

Wickham took the pile of letters back and carefully hid them in his coat once more. Then, he shot Georgiana his most charming smile.

"My most precious possessions," he said while patting his coat pocket, "Oh dear Georgie, how thou have thawed my heart!"

Georgiana shot him a dark glare, while Miss Bingley simply rolled her eyes.

"You are ridiculous, Wickham. Let us go now." And she marched off, her head held high. Wickham followed, but not before sardonically bowing low while throwing Georgiana an evil smirk.

Georgiana let out a deep sigh when the two visitors had left, and then she called a servant.

"Would you please be so kind as to light a fire for me?"

Part 2

"This plan of yours is full of potential problems," said Wickham, "I must say I'm a bit disappointed. I expected better from you."

Miss Bingley threw Wickham a furious glare, which only provoked him to smirk condescendingly. This riled her up further.

"And you're an incompetent cretin. You've ruined many girls, and yet you failed to ruin the one girl you were paid to ruin. You've promised elopement to many girls, yet failed to elope with one of the richest and most gullible fifteen-year-old girls that ever walked the earth. And you can't even pull off a standard blackmail scheme on your own. What are you good for?"

She had clearly struck a nerve as Wickham jumped up from his seat angrily, "Now look here, Missy, I want money and I want it fast. So, I'm not going to wait around for Mr. Prig-in-chief to introduce his Miss Prissy to Miss Prig. Besides, that scheme does not benefit me in any way. And it hardly benefits you: Even if Darcy shuns Miss Bennet, he's hardly going to turn around and propose to _you_."

Miss Bingley could not help but smile at Wickham's choice of words to describe Mr. Darcy, Miss Elizabeth, and Miss Darcy. Yet she rolled her eyes and claimed "You are so unoriginal. You should try changing your tune." Then she narrowed her eyes and continued, "I want revenge. I will not let Miss Bennet become the Mistress of Pemberley."

"And the money?" Wickham asked, clearly not changing his tune.

Miss Bingley huffed, "I'll get you your money. We will blackmail Mr. Darcy at the same time. You will write to him – without mentioning me – and include one letter as proof that Georgiana did indeed write such letters, and ask him to hand over a large sum in exchange for the remaining two. He will not want to worry his little sister, he's always been too fiercely protective of her dainty little head. He won't breathe a word of it to Georgiana and he will pay up."

Wickham was doubtful for a moment, "Are you sure he won't mention this to Georgiana? Even to ask about the exact number of letters she wrote?"

"I'm sure," replied Miss Bingley, "Now hand over one letter. The one where she writes _'I wish I had an infinite number of hearts so that I could love you as you deserve to be loved.'_ " She snickered.

Wickham laughed, "I do have a way with the ladies. She adored me, she was always fawning over me."

Then, he reached inside his coat to retrieve the letter. He searched for the one Miss Bingley had asked for before letting out a howl of rage. He was holding a pile of music sheets. He was, after all, an incompetent cretin.

 **End of chapter**

* * *

Thank you all for the reviews :) I had so much fun writing this chapter. I hope it's not disappointing that I didn't use this plotline to show Darcy-Elizabeth interaction under blackmail conditions. I really wanted to build Georgiana up from this meek and shy young girl into a clever and underestimated opponent.


	18. Chapter 21 Chaperones

Thank you for the reviews, 1529, Lynned13, EmlynMara, and all others. I edited the previous chapter slightly following a guest review (replaced the housemaid with the butler). This chapter is fairly short, I'll write more after mid-February :)

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Chaperones**

Jane's happiness at being engaged to her dear Mr. Bingley was contagious. Longbourn was merrier than ever. Elizabeth could even swear that she had heard Mary _giggle_ which was something to be expected of Kitty and Lydia, but certainly not of studious, serious Mary. Mrs. Bennet was beside herself with happiness at the idea of her daughter marrying so well and her nerves were not mentioned at all. Even Mr. Bennet appeared less cynical. He had heartily congratulated Jane on her engagement and his teasing, on her bursting with happiness at the idea of spending her life with a spineless fellow, was not cruel, and could certainly never dampen Jane's spirits. Elizabeth was delighted for her sister and felt that Jane greatly deserved all the happiness she was experiencing. And to top it all off, Mrs. Bennet became more polite towards Mr. Darcy, since he was now the friend of her future son-in-law.

Elizabeth had been quite flustered at seeing Mr. Darcy again, when he had called at Longbourn to accompany his friend. Mr. Bingley and Jane could not be left unchaperoned and so Elizabeth and Darcy accompanied them on their outings, which were frequent. Colonel Fitzwilliam wished to join this happy company but felt that it would be kinder to leave his shy cousin alone with Miss Elizabeth whenever possible. However, he could not help teasing Darcy, telling him, "I am sure you cannot wait for my regiment to call me back. You will be glad to see me leave, I am sure, because then you will be able to spend time with Miss Elizabeth without fear of a staunch rival such as myself vying for her attention."

About a week after Elizabeth had confessed to growing fond of Mr. Darcy, the four of them went walking in the direction of Meryton. Elizabeth suspected that Jane and her fiancé had opted for a walk because it allowed them to distance their chaperones as they pleased, and as they were used to doing, and she found herself welcoming and dreading it at the same time. On the one hand, she preferred to talk to Mr. Darcy without Mr. Bingley and Jane's scrutiny – although considering how enraptured with each other these two were, it was unlikely that there would be much scrutiny anyway – but on the other hand, she occasionally grew inexplicably nervous in his presence. She was starting to suspect that her occasional bouts of shyness were due to the development of ever more tender feelings towards him. Since she had begun to see much more of him, she found that she admired his character and enjoyed his conversation. On this particular walk, she noticed that he was very quiet. This unsettled her a little, it reminded her of how he had acted at the beginning of their acquaintance. But now she knew better, she had seen him amiable and eager to please, and therefore refused to jump to hasty conclusions.

"Are you alright, Mr. Darcy?" she asked while observing his furrowed brow.

"Thank you, I am fine. I am just a bit unsettled by a letter I received from my sister this morning," he replied with a smile, grateful for her solicitude.

"Oh," was all Elizabeth could say, not wishing to press him on the subject.

Mr. Darcy turned to look at her square on and they stopped walking.

"Miss Elizabeth, would you mind– that is, would you have no objection to being introduced to my sister should the opportunity present itself?"

Elizabeth was greatly surprised and flattered.

"Thank you, I should like to make her acquaintance."

"Perhaps you can help me decipher her meaning. She has written that I am to ignore any strange letters, that there is absolutely nothing to worry about, but that since she has learnt not to trust letters, she does not wish to say any more on the subject except in person. I do not know what to make of it."

"It is strange indeed," agreed Elizabeth, "But I am afraid I cannot help you decipher it. You know your sister whereas I do not."

"Yet," added Mr. Darcy.

Elizabeth smiled and asked, "What will you do?"

"She asks when I plan to return to town. I was thinking of inviting her to join us at Netherfield if Bingley does not object."

They both knew Mr. Bingley would not object.

"And then I may finally meet your sister of which I have heard so much about."

"Yes," Mr. Darcy smiled. He hoped with all his heart that they would get along well, and felt convinced that they must – Georgiana and Elizabeth were lovely, kind ladies and he could not imagine them disapproving of each other.


	19. Chapter 22 Their affectionate mother

Sorry for the delay in updating. As promised, it's now mid-February and there's a new chapter. I've been quite busy lately (exams, start of semester, planning study abroad to the US, other fanfics, etc.). I'm not yet sure when I'll be able to update next. This story is by far the most popular fanfiction I've written and I can't bear to leave so many people hanging so I will try to update again this month. Thank you for your patience and loyalty to this story, and of course reviews are always much appreciated. Please point out if there are any inconsistencies, since I'm on chapter 22 I might have lost track of some of the earlier things I wrote.

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Their affectionate mother**

When Mrs. Bennet found out that Miss Darcy was to come to Netherfield, she was desolate.

"Oh no when everything was going so well, why is this to befall us now? I am sure that proud Miss Darcy only means to come because she has heard of Mr. Bingley's engagement to dear Jane and she wants him for herself! Miss Bingley _had_ alluded to there being something between her brother and Miss Darcy!"

Elizabeth was greatly annoyed by this speech and pointed out to her mother that she did not know Miss Darcy at all to be able to claim she was proud, that Miss Darcy's motives were probably to visit her brother, that Miss Bingley's word was not to be trusted, and how could she possibly think so little of Mr. Bingley to think he would break off his engagement to Jane?

All those arguments fell on deaf ears.

Mrs. Bennet flapped her hands and wailed about her nerves. Then, she said, "I am sure she _must_ be proud if she is anything like her brother."

Elizabeth's patience was wearing thin and she blurted out, "Well, her brother has asked to introduce his sister to me, and I declare that I am looking forward to making her acquaintance!"

Mrs Bennet's eyes nearly popped out of her head and she raised a hand to her heart as she gasped, "Mr. Darcy wants to introduce his sister to you?"

She was clearly flabbergasted by this revelation. She then narrowed her eyes suspiciously while Elizabeth inwardly cursed her own traitorous outburst.

"Lizzy, perhaps we have been mistaken on this man's account. He seems to show more attention to you than I imagined possible. His asking to introduce his sister is a clear mark of regard, it is an honour, a dignity to which you are arrived."

"And if he shows an ounce of interest in me, you must therefore conclude to have been mistaken on his account? If you believe him to be within my power, suddenly his pride is not so objectionable?"

"Well, he _does_ have ten thousand a year," replied Mrs. Bennet without any attempt to disguise her mercenary motives.

"Aye, but that does not make a fine man. What is ten thousand to a uniform?" said Lydia with a giggle.

"A uniform is too much like a disguise to make an honest man," said Mary who wished to say something sensible but clearly did not.

"Then I suppose no clergyman is honest", said Elizabeth, exasperated, and because she knew Mary admired Mr. Collins, she sought to point out the contradiction by continuing, "What do you make of Mr. Collins' honesty, the man who prepares compliments in advance?"

Without waiting for a reply, she turned to her youngest sister:

"And Lydia, have you learnt nothing from seeing Wickham's behaviour? Appearance is not enough to make a fine person; the appearance of goodness does not make the person good."

Lydia did not seem to care much for this argument, she was convinced that appearance was all that mattered. Jane, on the other hand, thought quietly that goodness was the most important trait and she saw it in everyone.

"Forget Mr. Collins and forget Mr. Wickham!" cried Mrs. Bennet while flapping her hands wildly, "You should try to snare Mr. Darcy! Now, _that_ will be a great match." Her eyes were a little wild from excitement.

"I had planned to suggest you to Mr. Collins as a potential bride, but Mary will do just as well," she added dismissively.

Elizabeth felt a cold shiver run down her spine at the thought of her being a bride to Mr. Collins and she thanked the heavens that her mother seemed to have changed her mind. Once the oldest was secured in an engagement, and the second oldest appeared to be a favourite of a very rich man, she had naturally moved on to the third daughter. Fortunately, it turned out that the third daughter was interested in the aforementioned clergyman. Elizabeth was relieved; Mary was pleased. Their affectionate mother had just unknowingly made two of her daughters very happy.

"Pah! Poor Mary," said Lydia with a sneer, "Even she is not dull enough to be able to stand Mr. Collins."

Kitty giggled while Mary looked outraged.

"That is not kind, Lydia," said Jane with a gentle voice, "Our cousin is a respectable man, and dear Mary has many fine qualities."

"Respectable _is_ dull," commented Kitty while Lydia nodded in agreement.

"Oh hush Kitty!" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed, "This is no concern of ours. What we must do now is ensure that Lizzy gets Mr. Darcy to offer for her. Lizzy, when will he introduce you to Miss Darcy? Oh I do hope it will rain, then you shall go on horseback."

Elizabeth had no wish to end up like Jane had, with a fever, confined to a bed at Netherfield, "I certainly shall not."

Mrs. Bennet opened her mouth to protest but Elizabeth continued, "I have no wish to quarrel with you now. We may be spared this disagreement if it does not rain on the day. Let us postpone this until then."

It was at this moment that Mr. Bennet entered the room.

"What is all this commotion? It's hardly understandable, Mary is not even playing the piano."

"Your daughter does not want to go riding on horseback in the rain to get ten thousand a year!"

"And how will that help her get ten thousand a year? It will get her a bad cold, nothing else."

"Oh Mr. Bennet how you tease me! You have no compassion for my poor nerves! You must know I am thinking of Mr. Darcy marrying Lizzy!"

"I had not thought the man showed any particular attention to any of my daughters. However, if Lizzy is his favourite among them, I can only approve his taste and grudgingly admit that he has more sense than I gave him credit for. He could have chosen Lydia, but no, he would not rid me of the silliest."

Lydia was completely indifferent to the affront and said, "That is not all though, you shall also be rid of Mary. She will join Mr. Collins at Hunsford. I daresay she can take the piano with her for all I care."

"Has Mr. Collins offered for her?" said Mr. Bennet, frowning, "He has not asked for my consent."

"Oh nonsense, Mr. Bennet!" cried Mrs. Bennet, "Mr. Collins will marry any of our girls, even Mary, because he knows it to be right since our estate is entailed to him. I will gently suggest it, and it shall soon be a settled thing, and of course when he comes to ask for your consent, you should not dream of refusing him, his asking will be a mere formality."

Mr. Bennet doubted his wife could suggest anything gently.

Mary had had enough, and she left the room, nearly slamming the door with her anger. Not only was no one asking her what _she_ wanted – even if she was not averse to Mr. Collins she would have liked to be asked – but the dismissive way they spoke of her was angering her greatly. So what if she was plain in comparison to her sisters? Had they not just discussed how appearances were not the be-all and end-all? And if Mr. Collins _did_ ask her, she'd agree to marry him because she wanted to and she did not care one jot for what her sisters and her father thought about him. Yes, she thought grimly, she'd take the piano with her, and she'd continue to strive for her accomplishments.


	20. Chapter 23 Grown-up Georgiana

Thank you all for the reviews. Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to write.

By the way, I'm considering sharing a paid original story/ebook (which might take a while to finish writing :) ) in a different genre (adventure/fantasy) on a different platform... But this will probably take a while. Still pretty vague at the moment :)

* * *

 **Chapter 23: Grown-up Georgiana**

Georgiana was impatient to tell her brother about what had happened in London. Almost as soon as the carriage pulled to a stop in front of Netherfield, she jumped out, barely waiting to be helped out. She hardly noticed the rain. She was shown into the drawing room, where the guests of Netherfield were playing cards before dinner. She was eagerly greeted by her brother and Mr. Bingley. Mrs. Hurst was more reserved, yet, surprisingly, she showed genuine pleasure at Georgiana's arrival. She gave the younger woman an affectionate smile.

Perhaps, thought Georgiana, she does not share her sister's disdain of me.

Mr. Hurst did not seem very much interested in the new arrival and resented the interruption of the card game because his fellow players' attentions were now engaged elsewhere.

"Georgiana," said Darcy in a warm voice, "I am very happy to see you."

He did not add that he was also quite curious about the enigmatic letter she had sent him.

"Miss Darcy," said Bingley in his usual joyous way, "I am very glad for your visit. Welcome to Netherfield Park."

"Thank you, you are very kind, Mr. Bingley," replied Georgiana. She was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet in excited agitation. She wanted to tell her brother about the events in London, but she was unsure about how much ought to be revealed in front of others, especially those connected with Caroline Bingley. Despite what Miss Bingley had tried to do, Georgiana still felt a twinge uneasy at the thought of revealing her odious behaviour to her brother Mr. Bingley. However, Georgiana was not the only one bursting with news. Mr Bingley gave a large smile and said, "I have some important news, Miss Darcy. 'Tis would have been announced per letter had you not so fortuitously agreed to join us here. Miss Jane Bennet and I are engaged."

Mr. Bingley's obvious happiness distracted Georgiana from thinking about the news she wanted to tell.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "That is great news, congratulations Mr. Bingley! I am sure Miss Bennet and you will be very happy. You have my best wishes for your health and happiness."

"Thank you," replied Bingley. He looked radiant.

"Miss Darcy, would you like to join our game?" asked Mr. Hurst in an attempt to redirect the conversation towards cards.

Georgiana did not join for it was just then announced that dinner was ready to be served.

During dinner, Mr. Darcy asked his sister if she would like to meet the two eldest Miss Bennets the next day. Georgiana acquiesced with a smile, she had already heard much about Jane and Elizabeth Bennet and looked forward to meeting them. An invitation to come to dinner at Netherfield the next day was immediately dispatched to Longbourn. Georgiana thought that meeting Mr. Bingley's fiancée was natural, meeting Miss Elizabeth a little less so. She had understood her brother's admiration for the lady through the descriptions from his letters. Now, Georgiana observed her brother shrewdly, wondering if her brother felt more than admiration. Her curiosity was piqued and tomorrow could not come fast enough. This exciting prospect almost made her forget the reason for her precipitous decision to go to Netherfield. However, after dinner, when she managed to find herself alone with her brother for a few moments, she confessed everything that had happened in town.

She told him the story in so hurried a voice that he was not sure he understood it all. In fact, he realised he missed most, if not all, of the key information.

"They blackmailed you?" Darcy asked, stunned.

"They tried. I prevented them."

"There were never any letters?"

"There were three letters. But I took them and burned them."

"How?"

"They came to gloat and dangle them in front of me. They told me I was such a bad actor I could never lie convincingly. Wickham had put the letters down on the piano, so I pretended to cry and I sent all the letters and some music sheets to the floor with my arm. While I was collecting the papers on the floor, they were too busy arguing with each other to notice me tuck the letters away. I put the music sheets where the letters were and kept a low profile until they were gone."

Mr. Darcy's complexion had shown heightened surprise throughout this explanation.

"Georgiana, I don't know what to say," he said, sounding impressed, "It's great you managed to fool them. You don't need my protection anymore," he added, sounding a little wistful.

Georgiana blushed with pride. The sentiment only increased when her brother added, "I can see you're all grown up now, Georgiana."

Then, he sighed. "What Miss Bingley did is very grave. Perhaps we should tell Charles," he said thoughtfully.

Georgiana was a bit hesitant, "You may if you want, but what good can come of him knowing his sister's actions?"

"It might increase his watchfulness; his brotherly affection may lead to him to renew his trust when she does not deserve it."

When Darcy reported Georgiana's revelations, only keeping quiet on the precise subject of the attempted blackmail, Bingley blanched and apologised profusely. Darcy assured him that he was not to blame for his sister's actions. They decided that Mrs. Hurst did not need to be informed on Miss Bingley's actions and then parted for the night. Once this matter was settled, each man's thoughts became more agreeably engaged. The next day would bring both gentlemen back in the company of their beloveds.

 _Preview of next chapter (not yet completed):_

 **Chapter 24: Meeting Miss Darcy**

Despite her claims of looking forward to meeting Miss Darcy, as the day of her arrival drew near, Elizabeth found herself growing a bit restless. She was slightly nervous, but most of all highly curious, about meeting Miss Darcy. She had heard a lot about her from Miss Bingley – mostly lavish praise – but did not know whether that information was to be trusted. She had also heard her described by Mr. Wickham as being proud, but again, this information could hardly be trusted. Mr. Darcy had not said much on the subject due to his natural reserve, and he could hardly be considered an impartial judge on his own sister. Elizabeth had therefore very little idea of what to expect.

The very day that Miss Darcy arrived at Netherfield Park, a message was dispatched to Longbourn to invite the two eldest Miss Bennets for dinner the following day. Jane was eager to spend any time with her fiancé away from her overbearing mother, and Elizabeth was a mixture of elation and anxiety at the idea of being introduced to Mr. Darcy's sister. The day of the dinner, she went for an energetic early morning walk to help her manage her stress for the rest of the day. In the late afternoon, she retired earlier to her room than usual to have plenty of time to prepare her dress before dinner. Soon, she had to usher her fussing mother out of the room. She heard a knock at the door and dreaded that her mother was back with even more criticisms and recommendations. Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief when Jane entered the room. Jane also readied herself for dinner; they helped each other fix their attires. Jane saw Elizabeth's agitation.

"She will love you, Lizzy," said Jane to reassure her, "How could she not?"

"I hope so," sighed Elizabeth, "It is unusual for me. I am not accustomed to vying for someone's approval but…" She trailed off.

"You like Mr. Darcy and would like to make a good impression on his dear sister?" said Jane while fixing Elizabeth's hair.

Elizabeth blushed, "Well, yes. Jane, I really think I do like him. How odd."

Jane smiled sweetly at her younger sister.


End file.
